The Nation October 12, 2014

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

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Edo: Thugs invade legislators’ homes N

O fewer than 200 thugs suspected to be sympathetic to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday unleashed terror on the legislatives’ quarters located along Ihama road in the Government Reserved Area (GRA) part of Benin, capital of Edo State.

The heavily-armed thugs, who stormed the quarters in ten Hiace buses, were allegedly led by a certain Shaba.

The invasion may not be unconnected with last Monday’s violent attack on PDP lawmaker, Hon Abdulrazak Momoh, who is being treated at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.

The armed thugs overpowered security operatives attached to the quarters with heavy gunshots shaking the vicinity.

The official residences of many All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers were destroyed.

About 36 cars belonging to them were also destroyed. Many of them were riddled with bullets.

It was gathered that the thugs launched the attack at about 6:30am after they tied up the security guards at the gate.

Policemen attached to the lawmakers have earlier been withdrawn for undisclosed reasons.

The thugs shot sporadically and chased the lawmakers away.

A visibly- shaken eyewitness, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “We woke up to the sounds of gunshots and about 100 thugs firing bullets at vehicles parked.

“They were shouting that we will kill all the APC lawmakers today. I hid in one of the boys quarter for my safety.

“They also threatened to return back on later day.”

At the time of filing this report, a heavy detachment of stern- looking policemen from the State Command had condoned off the Assembly Quarters.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole, who visited the quarters after the incident, accused the police of connivance for failing to stop the attack after receiving intelligence reports about the attack.

Oshiomhole stated that failure of the police to stop the attack showed that the police have permission for the attack.

The governor stated that PDP leaders in the state had a meeting where it was decided that thugs should be recruited using one Idehen to perpetrate the attack.

According to him, “It is very clear that the Police granted permission for this attack. The Commissioner of Police was informed at about 10:00pm last night of the plan of the PDP to attack the Legislative quarters and the APC office.

“We made this intelligence available to the Commissioner of Police and you can see that even the minimal police presence here was evacuated so that these thugs can come and have a free reign of terror.

“This morning, when they assembled at a point they were meant to assemble, the fact was conveyed to the Commissioner of Police.

“They actually assembled at George Idah Primary School this morning before they proceeded and the Police provided supervision for this very serious criminal act.

“It is very clear that the police command granted permission to PDP to carry out this heinous crime.”

•Sack families of Speaker, Majority Leader, others •Vandalise 36 APC lawmakers’ cars •PDP behind attack, says Oshiomhole •We knew nothing about it, PDP replies From: Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia and Osagie Otabor Benin

The governor added: “This is a very dangerous thing. I am not so much worried about the violent character of the PDP. I am more worried by what seems to be the police readiness to provide them with cover.”

Speaking on the attack on Momoh said: “You will recall that during the Local Government Election, Razak Momoh was arrested by the police with two guns; a pistol and a double barrel gun. As of that time during that local government election, he was still a member of ACN. “When he was arrested and the facts were brought to my attention, I asked the police to ensure that he was prosecuted according to law.

“He was remanded by court in prison for four months before he was granted bail and, as we speak, that matter is pending at the High Court.

“About six months before the election, Razak was shot by his own fellow criminals and he was taken to the hospital. I encouraged Rasak Momoh to disclose who shot him and he claimed he didn’t know.

“This is someone who has a history of violence. History of carrying guns and attacking people with guns and I have insisted and I still do that everyone who has committed crime must be prosecuted according to the law of the land.

“The fact that he is a lawmaker makes it imperative for him to be seen to obey the law and the police told me then that when he was arrested he asked the police, do you know who he is? That he is a member of the House of Assembly and the police had to remind him that he doesn’t have immunity.”

Oshiomhole said: “My warning to the PDP is that power is very transient. Today you are in power, tomorrow you are out of power. Any crime you have committed that the present political order covers you, when the order changes, you will report to justice.

“Yesterday (Friday) at the a Airport, the president came and in line with my conviction that he is the President of Nigeria and not of a particular party, I went to receive him.

“When he was here two weeks ago to address a rally, I went to the airport to receive him.

For me, that is the idea of politics. It is not war. It should not be so primitive “Yesterday (Friday) again, I went to the airport to receive the president for the ground breaking ceremony of a private sector investment which we jointly midwifed with over $800 million. This same Pastor Ize-Iyamu organised rascals and they were abusing themselves.

“The whole idea of their plan was to create a scene at the airport because they have no responsibilities and I have responsibility. If there was any fracas at the airport it would seem as if the Governor of Edo State was not able to receive the president.”Because they didn’t get a response, they descended on the APC Chairman and they attacked him, attacked the Chief of Staff and the Secretary to the

Government. I advised them to leave them as two wrongs do not make a right.”

He said: “The activities of the rascals cannot distract us from governance, it will not lead us to resorting to their primitive practice and we will document all these facts and draw the attention of the president and I will like to see how the president responds to them.”

But the Edo State chapter of the PDP denied orchestrating the invasion of the legislators’ quarters.

It said leaders of the party never met on Friday to plan the attack.

Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, who spoke at a press briefing, said the only business conducted by the party on Friday was to welcome President Goodluck Jonathan to the

state.

According to him: “There is no truth whatsoever in the governor’s allegations. After welcoming Mr. President to Edo State on Friday, many of us went to our houses, had a light dinner and went to bed.

“It is common knowledge that what happened may have been borne out of the attack on Hon Rasaq Momoh and the fact that those accused are now free today.

“What happened this morning was not the work of our party. We believe in the law enforcement agencies to deal with the situation.”

Also, the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Godwin Erhahon, alleged he was attacked during the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to the state

at the Benin Airport by PDP thugs.

Erhahon, in a statement, narrated that he was beaten, slapped and almost lynched by the irate thugs.

The statement reads: “On Friday morning, as I joined my co-state officers to welcome President Goodluck Jonathan on the invitation of our Comrade Governor Adams Oshiomhole, I was attacked by thugs of some PDP leaders who violently objected to my wearing APC-labelled shirt to the occasion.

“It took the effort of some patriotic police officers and the Chief of Staff, Government House to rush me to safety even as the thugs rainedblows, kicks and slaps on me.

“They equally attacked APC State Auditor, Mr. Joe Imasuen.

“Yet in that moment of brutality, I pitied the thugs for how their so-called leaders have reduced them to such an animalistic level as neither my children nor those of the leaders who sent them would allow themselves to be so used.”

It added: “Till now, I have

no apology for wearing my party dress to accompany my party governor to the laying of the foundation of a state project to which the president was invited.

“When the president came recently for a PDP rally, APC leaders had no business being at the airport. And when he came today as guest of APCcontrolled government, I did not expect PDP to see it as their show.

“I do not see why members of APC and PDP cannot mix up freely and peacefully in an event where leaders of both parties are featuring.”

Reacting to the violent attacks, the State Commissioner of Police, Foluso Adebanjo, said the Command will get to their roots.

He assured that anyone found involved in them would be brought to book, no matter how highly-placed.

According to him, “We cannot tolerate this act of thuggery in a state I control. Anybody involved will face the law.”

He informed that some persons suspected to have been involved in the incidents have been arrested, adding that the Command was investigation the matters.

•Journalists inspecting one of the vandalised vehicles after yesterday’s attack

Majority Leader’s wife, son in coma

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HE wife of Edo Assembly Majority Leader, Mrs. Shaibu and her son are currently in coma at an undisclosed hospital in Benin following a deep stab they sustained from the thugs who stormed their official residence yesterday morning.

The rampaging thugs were said to have swooped on the official residence of Hon. Philip Shaibu (Etsako West Constituency 2), shooting sporadically and destroying all his cars.

It was learnt that when the thugs could not locate Shaibu on gaining entrance into his living room, they stabbed his wife in the neck and descended on the son who they also stabbed in the back.

One of Shaibu’s domestic

•Police arrest 10 suspects •Speaker petitions police From Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

staff, who disclosed this to newsmen, also sustained deep injuries in his left leg while attempting to rescue his boss’ wife and children.

The Police Command also disclosed that it has arrested ten suspects in connection with the invasion.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Foluso Adebanjo, stated this in a telephone interview.

The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Uyi Igbe, has already sent a petition to the Police Command over the incident where

property worth millions of naira were destroyed.

Igbe, in his petition, fingered the State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Chief Lucky Imasuen and the lawmaker representing Orhionmwon South constituency, Mr. Friday Ogierhiakhi, as masterminds of the invasion.

He said: “The group of assassins and thugs in their hundreds were led into the legislators’ quarters by known faces.

“After the exit of the hoodlums, face cap was found in the premises with an inscription

Final Push which is a slogan of a group believed to be sponsored by one Friday Ogierhiakhi.”

He wondered why the Police did nothing about the plot even after it was reported hours before.

“Having heard the information of the possible attack yesterday, we expect that the security in and around the premises should have been beefed up to foil the attack.

“More so the few police officers that were supposedly posted to the legislative quarters were absent at the time of the attack.”

Indications emerged that the suspects arrested over the incident would be arraigned in court tomorrow.

Ijaw youths slam Jonathan, Clark over summit snub

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EMBERS of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) were left fuming at the weekend as President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Dame Patience and other Ijaw leaders shunned the World summit organised by the IYC. The summit was to bring stakeholders together to create employment and train

From Shola O’Neil, Region Editor, South-south

youths of the region to be employable.

A very angry leader of the IYC told our reporter that the president made a “tactical blunder by ignoring the people who have been holding fort for him all these years.”

The leader fumed: “The president attends less impor-

tant events than this IYC youth summit but fails to show up and make his case with his people.”

IYC President, Comrade Udengs Eradiri, who was unable to conceal his disappointment, still solicited support for the president.

He said: “Much as he has done some things in the Niger Delta, we are not satisfied; we have no jobs, our

roads are not completed and things are not happening as they should in the Niger Delta.

“In as much as we are happy about what the amnesty is doing, there are just about 30,000 captured. We have over 10 million young people in the Niger Delta.

Look at the ratio of 10million Niger Delta youths and 30,000 amnesty beneficiaries.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

NEWS

Ekiti lawmakers move to impeach Speaker

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Imo State Gov. Rochas Okorocha and wife, handing over their daughter, Uju to groom, Dr. Uzoma Anwukah

L-R Governor Rochas Okorocha, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, groom, Mr. Ozumma Tony Awukah and bride and Uju yesterday.

L-R: Kano State Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the couple, former Lagos State Gov. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Senator Adamu Abdullahi and former All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, yesterday.

Former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Okorocha

Tinubu, Buhari, Atiku, others storm Owerri for Okorocha’s daughter’s wedding

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MO State capital, Owerri yesterday witnessed what has been described as the country’s biggest political gathering. It was at the wedding of the daughter of the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha.

The governor’s daughter Uju, got married to Dr. Uzoma Anwukah, son of the Secretary to the State Government.

Among the political heavy weights in attendance were the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie- Odigie Oyegun, his predecessor Chief Bisi Akande, national leader of APC and former Lagos State Governor, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Kano State governor and APC presidential as-

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri pirant, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso among others.

Other dignitaries were Kwara State Governor, Ahmed Abdulfatah, his Akwa Ibom counterpart Godswill Akpabio, two former Bayelsa State governors Timpreye Sylva and Dipreye Solomon Alayemeseigha, his former Abia State counterpart Chief Ogbonaya Onu, and APC National Publicity Secretary, Isa Mohammed.

Also in attendance were Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura, Sen. Chris Ngige, publisher of the Leadership Newspapers, Sam Nda-Isaiah, and Sen. Bukola Saraki.

The wedding also afforded the APC Presidential

aspirants the opportunity to deliberate with the leaders of the party ahead of the Presidential primaries.

However, all the APC leaders and other politicians declined to speak to anxious journalists, insisting that they were in Owerri for the wedding of the Governor’s daughter.

Speaking shortly after the Church service, Governor Okorocha, said that the coming together of the eminent Nigerians, irrespective of their political affiliations, was an indication that the country was still united.

According to him, “This is not a gathering of any political party. I can see APC leaders, I can see PDP leaders, and members of other political parties, this is a strong indi-

cation that the unity of our country cannot be compromised.”

He thanked God for His blessings on his family and the state, “I am grateful today to witness the marriage of my beloved daughter to a man am proud to call a son, it is indeed the Lord’s doing and am grateful”.

Joining the couple at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, the presiding Priest and Bishop of Okigwe Catholic Diocese, Bishop Solomon Amatu, charged them to preserve the sanctity of the marriage institution by loving each other like Christ loved the Church.

He further admonished them to pattern their marriage after the will of God and not the will of men.

KITI lawmakers may have perfected moves to impeach their Speaker, Hon. Adewale Omirin, to balance the political equations in view of the new incoming government.

The new, it was learnt at the weekend, will also rejig the zoning power structure in the State ahead of the resumption of the Governor-elect, Ayo Fayose.

Sources told our correspondent that the other principal officers, especially the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Taiwo Orisalade; Majority leader, Hon Churchill Adedipe and Chief Whip, Hon Ade Ajayi, might also be affected by the plot.

It was gathered that the impeachment might take place anytime this week.

Lawmakers belonging to the All Progressives Congress (APC), which has 25 of the 26-member Assembly, are said to be disposed to the move.

Findings revealed that the lawmakers from constituencies in Ekiti North Senatorial district comprising Ilejemeje, Moba, Ikole, Ido/Osi and Oye Local Government councils are spearheading the move.

At least fifteen of the lawmakers were said to have visited the Lagos residence of the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to sound him out on the plot.

They reportedly told him the impeachment of Omirin was not negotiable.

The lawmakers, according to findings, have been unhappy over the leadership style of Omirin.

The disaffection, sources said, is responsible for the massive boycott of meetings called by the Speaker in the last three weeks.

Unimpressed, the lawmakers have totally stayed

Ebola: Family of late PH doctor, Enemuo alleges foul play

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HE family of late Dr. Ikechukwu Enemuo, who reportedly died of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), has raised the alarm over the suspicious circumstances of his death.

His uncle, Dr Onyekwena J.C, in a statement yesterday accused the doctor’s wife, the Minister of Health and Rivers State Government of conniving to damage the good name of the deceased doctor.

The family asked the relevant authorities to come out clean on what actually killed their son.

The statement titled: “Ebola in River State, not killer Ebola, “directed” at Dr. Ikechukwu Enemuo” claimed the family has been traumatised since the widely-publicised incident.

It added that the late Enemuo’s sister, Chinyere, a graduate, has had her wedding ceremony slated for August 26 called off owing to the development.

Chinyere, the family added, was granted unprotected access to his brother without his EVD status disclosed as expected from health workers.

From: Nwanosike Onu, Awka

The family wondered how Enemuo, who did have any form of fever, diarrhea or vomiting, could have died of EVD. The statement reads: “On 16th August Dr. Enemuo’s mother told me he was on admission. All efforts by the parents and I to get him treated by a specialist including Ebola centre were frustrated by the wife (probably plus his doctor) who keep saying he was better.

“The wife said there was nowhere in Rivers State you can get Ebola-help. I sent three numbers of Ebola Help-PH but it did not help them before or after Dr. Enemuo died “When Dr. Enemuo’s sister called Ebola Help PH, they said they were coming on 22nd August 2014, two hours later he died.

“Immediate transport to mortuary for embalmment done by the wife and her brother without involving his parents who reside at Aba, his four cousins live in PortHarcourt “They were not contacted for the one week Dr. Enemuo was on admission. His doctor

and the wife could not do the right thing “His doctor and wife did not tell the sister who slept with him in the hospital (disposing his excreta and vomits) that he was an Ebola suspect “Before and after death, they called members of his fellowship who had unprotected contacts with him. Ebola suspect is government property dead or alive, his wife (a health worker) and his doctor know that.

“Why did they not insist Ebola help should come to collect specimen from his body?

“We now depend on blood sample submitted to government five days after his death” “On 26th August, the sister asked the doctor about the Ebola result, he said the sample was still with him and he was waiting for Ebola unit to come” “If we are not sure the blood sample tested is Doctor Enemuo’s blood, why did the government refuse further test including DNA test when his family requested for that?

“Embalmment was done without informing mortuary workers he was Ebola suspect, every effort was made to spread Ebola.”

The family added: “Every effort made by the mother to come to Port-Harcourt to arrange for better treatment was frustrated” “She even got up to motor park in Port Harcourt and was told her son was taken to Lagos for further treatment” “On Sunday 31st August, when the government approached the sister to contact relations for burial, she insisted she should be tested.

“She had no fever, no diarrhea, no vomiting but said she had long history of mild occasional abdominal pain” “Monday 1st September 2014 news was everywhere she tested positive. Her blood was collected 3rd, 5th, 6th Sept for test. I believe they are all negative” “She was not treated as government is suggesting.

They only switched off her phone and discharged her on 7th September.

“The wife left the husband’s residence on Thursday 28th August. By Sunday 31/8/ 14, she was said to be well (cured) with her three- monthold baby boy, who had child dedication and some church members who attended the

dedication quarantined.”

“Dr. Enemuo’s wife delivered a baby girl on 7th August 2014 while the husband died two weeks later” “Another woman who has a three- month- old baby boy probably stood for her in isolation centre” “Ebola in Rivers State had a target, to kill and spoil the good name of Doctor Enemuo, no other person who had contact with Dr. Enemuo and the diplomat had fever within four weeks of his death (“except” the wife)” “The diplomat became Ebola negative and well within three days, the doctor and nurses who treated him first ten day functioning as usual in his clinic.”

“The old woman who died later was declared Ebola negative 24 hours later (maybe when relations protested she did not have fever, diarrhea and vomiting etc). Diagnosis changed to heart and kidney disease.”

“We want to know the truth undiluted, sin against the poor is visited on children to third and fourth generation (160 years). Our Christ and our God is not asleep.”

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti off the Assembly.

A source deep in the plot said: “The move is to ensure a balancing of the political equation when the Governor-elect, Mr Ayodele Fayose assumes office.

“Governor Fayemi is from Ekiti North; his deputy is from Central while Speaker Omirin is from South.

“But Fayose, the incoming governor, is from Central, his deputy, Dr Olusola Eleka from South, which is the same with Omirin. This is why the Speaker must go.”

The source added: “The Speaker may be removed anytime from now except he could play a fast game.

Some APC lawmakers are bent on removing him at all cost, not only to balance the political equation but to punish him for the sins he had committed under Governor Fayemi.

“Some of them were of the opinion that Hon Omirin was imposed on them by the Governor.

Aside this, they believed he was too loyal and timid to confront Governor Fayemi on various issues which had not been in the overall interest of members, particularly in the area of finance.”

Speaking with newsmen on phone, Ominrin strongly denied the rumour, insisting lawmakers in Ekiti were united and committed to the development of the State.

The Speaker, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media, Wole Olujobi, maintained: “The rumour is just the figment of wild imaginations of those peddling it.

“The unity among members is something of pride tomembers and Ekiti people in general.”

Fayemi holds fourth anniversary thanksgiving

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OP government functionaries and dignitaries from different walks will converge at St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral, Ado-Ekiti today for a special thanksgiving service commemorating the fourth anniversary of the Dr Kayode Fayemi administration.

The church thanksgiving is coming barely three days after a special Jumat thanksgiving service at the Ansar-ur Deen Mosque in the state capital.

The thanksgiving would be followed by the commissioning of the new Governor’s Lodge (Ayoba Villa), a photo exhibition of achievements of the administration and presentation of books detailing activities of the administration and Governor Fayemi.

Dignitaries expected at the events include Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal; Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka; state governors and captain of industries.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

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HERE was fresh anxiety on the fate of the abducted 219 Chibok girls following the reported payment of ransom to Boko Haram by the Republic of Cameroon to secure the release of the girls.

The negotiators of the federal government and the sect have not agreed on a date for the resumption of talks.

But the release of the Cameroonian hostages might hasten the resumption of the backdoor negotiation by the two parties.

It was learnt that some of the facilitators of the federal government are already pushing for a return to the negotiation table.

A statement from the Office of Cameroonian President confirmed that the sect released the 27 hostages including Francoise Agnes Moukori, who is the wife of the Deputy Prime Minister, Amadou Ali. Although the Cameroonian Government was not specific if any ransom was paid or not, a highlyplaced security source said: "We were aware of demand for

NEWS

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Boko Haram frees 27 hostages in Cameroon •Pressure on FG to resume talks with sect •Why we quarantined troops in Liberia From: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

ransom, they might have paid to secure the release the hostages. But I cannot tell you the amount involved."

Following the release of the hostages, some of those involved in talks between the federal government and Boko Haram were said to have called for resumption of talks with the sect by the federal government.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that some of the negotiators had been mounting pressure for the resumption of talks.

The two parties had planned to reconvene after the just-concluded Eid-el-Kabir Festival.

Before adjourning talks, Boko Haram had released the list of its key 19 commanders,

to be swapped with 30 Chibok girls, to the federal government and its facilitators.

The 30 girls, comprising 15 Christians and 15 Muslims, were to be used by Boko Haram to test the federal government's commitment to the swap deal before 189 others can be released.

But the government was adamant on the release of all the 219 Chibok girls still in Boko Haram custody for what a source described as a "meaningful swap deal."

It was gathered that the way the Cameroon got reprieve for the 27 hostages might add impetus to the ongoing negotiation with Boko Haram by Federal Government facilitators.

One of the facilitators of the ongoing talks with Boko Haram, who spoke in confi-

dence, said: "With what Cameroon has done, it shows that there is nothing bad in continuing dialogue with Boko Haram.

"If the same country waging war with Boko Haram can facilitate talks to release 27 hostages, led by the wife of its Deputy Prime Minister, we also have a window of opportunity to negotiate the release of the 219 Chibok girls.

"This is not the first time Cameroon will be doing it; we should follow the same course.

Ours is easier, the sect is not asking for ransom, the thrust of the talks is about swapping some Boko Haram members with the girls.

"And it was a good thing that President Goodluck Jonathan had set a tone for the ongoing talks when he said Nigeria will not pay any ran-

som."

Another source said: "Some of us calling for negotiation have been vindicated

by Cameroon. Only God knew what Cameroon offered in return for the release of the 27 hostages.

"It is time to compare notes with our neighbour and set free the Chibok girls. The government needs to get over the abduction as fast as possible.

"We have to look beyond those opposed to talks with these insurgents for the sake of these girls."

Feeling for the abductees, a former Minister of Education and one of the coordinators of BringBackOurGirls campaign tweeted: "Day 180 and as we commemorate the 2014 International Day of the Girl Child, our hearts ache for our Chibok girls. Our girls are still not back. It is International Day of the Girl Child and our daughters know it not.

We must Act. "It is Day 180 and as we celebrate child protégé Malala for historical win of Nobel Peace Prize, we are reminded that our girls also CAN." Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters yesterday explained why it quarantined Nigerian troops in Liberia against Ebola Virus Disease.

It said the quarantine was a preventive measure following the manifestation of EVD by a Sudanese UN Staff.

The DHQ in its twitter handle said: "No Nigerian soldier in Liberia has so far tested positive to the Ebola Virus Disease. The troops, however, remain confined to their camp for preventive purposes and medical observation following the case of a Sudanese UN staff who was reported to have manifested the disease.

"All necessary steps are also being taken to ensure that none of the Nigerian troops is being affected while serving in Liberia."

Robbers kill Gen. Oneya's daughter in Delta From Shola O'Neil and Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

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•Chinese hostages, who were released to the Cameroonian authorities along with Cameroonian hostages after being kidnapped in raids blamed on the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, arrive in Yaounde on October 11, 2014. Ten Chinese and 17 local hostages have been released in Cameroon, where they were kidnapped earlier this year in raids blamed on Boko Haram, Cameroon's President Paul Biya said. AFP PHOTO/REINNIER KAZE

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VER 50 persons have lost their lives and over 100 injured in the illegal local mining site at Mayo-Sina, near Nguroje, Sardauna local government area of Taraba State.

Despite the rise in number deaths, more persons across the country and neighbouring West African countries are trooping to the area on a daily basis.

They are reportedly making millions of money in the area, which is said to have deposits of diamond and other minerals resources.

Mayo-Sina is perhaps one of the fastest growing settlements in the world, having being discovered only in January this year.

A young man of less than 20 years found a single stone which has earned him N32 million -being the biggest sale, after spending only a few days in Mayo-Sina, popularly known as the 'Blue Village.'

Our correspondent who spent 18 hours at the site on Wednesday and Thursday gathered that the miners perished when the roofs of deep holes and caves they dug and burrowed into collapsed on them.

"You know they continue to burrow into holes like rodents, in search of diamond and other precious stones. When the roof

Over 50 local miners die, 100 injured in Taraba mine From Fanen Ihyongo

of the cave or surface of the earth fell on them, they suffocated to death before anything could be done," said one of the miners.

Michael Akura, another miner, likened the cause of the deaths of the local miners to "greed."

Akura, 47, said he has seen over 20 persons die, apart from those who died before he arrived at Mayo-Sina to dig for precious stones.

He added that the miners were too eager to make money such that they were not ready to take precautionary measures in spite of the deaths. "Many more will still die," he said.

As Akura explained, another report came that four other miners have been trapped.

They were removed but two of them looked lifeless. Some labourers removed clothes and were fanning them. One of the miners said they were already dead.

Chairman of Sardauna local government council, Dr. David Jedua, said he has written to the state government

about the development which he described as illegal mining of minerals.

He said he was going to personally visit the site to see things for himself and discuss with the people there.

He added that he has provided adequate security in the area to ensure that the people maintain law and order in spite of the illegal mining.

Jedua said he has also planned to set up a Quarantine Unit in the site for the people to be tested of the dreaded Ebola virus disease.

The council boss however said it was a welcome development since the mining, though illegal, has drastically reduced hunger and unemployment in the area.

"Coming during my tenure, I see it as one of my achievements or blessings of my administration. The people would have carried arms to terrorise people, but they took to tilling the earth.

"I am finding time to go there and see them eye to eye, discuss with them and see how they are faring, especially in

terms of security -before the state government will either give them the go ahead or stop them.

"At the local government level, the best we can do is to provide security for them. I have asked all the security agencies there: Immigration, Customs, Civil Defence and the police, to take statistics of what is happening there especially on the foreigners going there.

"They are to ensure the foreigners have their passports and other necessary papers.

You know one has to be very careful in handling miners to prevent them from rioting. All over the world, miners are known to be violent people.

"But for now, we are happy with what they are doing because the local mining has boosted our economy and as well reduced the level of unemployment in the land.

"The youth who were hitherto idle and men and women who had no source of livelihood have now found a source of living. I thank God; it is one of the blessings of my administration," he said.

RANCES, daughter of a former Military Administrator of Kano State and ex- President of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Brig. General Dominic Oneya (retired), has been shot dead by suspected robbers.

The mother of four was killed around JW junction on Ovie Palace Road, Effurun in broad daylight last Friday few minutes after she left a bank where she reportedly made cash withdrawal.

Though the robbers made away with her handbag after shooting the victim, N250, 000 was later recovered by police from her car's boot.

The development has sent fears down the spines of residents of Effurun and Warri in Delta State.

The incident occurred on the same day about ten daredevil armed robbers laid siege to the Effurun/Ughelli axis of the East/West highway.

The Police Public Relations Office(PPRO) Delta Command, DSP Celestine Kalu, who confirmed the report, said the robberies were perpetrated by the same gang that plundered and pillaged on the Ughelli expressway.

Kalu, who spoke in a telephone chat with our reporter,

said the robbers made away with the woman's handbag.

She said: "She (victim) went to the bank to withdraw money. I think they followed her (from the bank).

"They shot her and took her handbag but they did not know that the money was not in the bag; it was in the boot of the car."

The police image-maker further revealed that the car was recovered along with the N250, 000 cash, adding that the police were on the trail of the robbers.

"Another deadly ember month is upon us yet again.

We thought we have escaped these nightmares for good," one panic-stricken resident, who saw the remains of the victim, said.

Acquaintances described the late Frances as an easygoing lady who loved life and did her best to make her friends and family happy.

"Her death is a great shock to us. She was a God- fearing woman and it's a shame that she has been killed and her children made motherless," one of her friends said.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Olorogun O'tega Emerhor, who lost his son in a similar robbery incident years ago, said the spate of insecurity in the state was worrisome.

Borno spends N500m on Hajj

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HE Borno government yesterday that it spent about N500m toward the successful conduct of this year's Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

The Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zannah Mustapha, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Makkah.

Mustapha, who was the leader of the state's Hajj Committee, said that the money was used to secure good accommodation for the state pilgrims, as well as ensure good welfare for them.

He said that the state government provided a subsidy

of 300 Saudi Riyals to each of the 2,645 pilgrims to enable them to perform the hadaya (slaughtering of animals during the Hajj).

The deputy governor added that the state government had remained steadfast in ensuring hitch-free Hajj in the past four years in spite of prevailing security challenges.

He thanked Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa and Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State for their assistance to the state during the transportation of Borno pilgrims to the Holy Land.

SEE NEWS REVIEW -PAGE 10

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NEWS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

Jonathan, Zuma open talks over F

OLLOWING tension over the $15million botched arms deal, President Goodluck Jonathan and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma have opened up talks to avert diplomatic row.

Also, ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Thabo Mbeki were said to have stepped into issues surrounding the arms deal.

But there were strong indications that the Federal government will not release the names of those who ferried the $9.3million to South Africa for "strategic security reasons."

According to a highlyplaced source in government, who spoke in

botched $15m arms deals …Obasanjo, Mbeki move to avert diplomatic impasse …FG may not release list of those who ferried cash to SA confidence, the arms deal was being "treated at the presidential level" to avoid a diplomatic row.

The source said: "The two leaders have discussed extensively in the last one and a half weeks on the arms deal and why the matter had to be handled at the diplomatic level.

"The key point in their

FROM: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

talks is that the two nations should not allow the issue to degenerate to a diplomatic row. I can tell you that Jonathan and Zuma have struck some understanding on how to treat the matter maturely without rubbishing the

integrity of any of the two countries."

Responding to a question, the source added: "The federal government insisted that the deal had nothing to do with fraud or money laundering as being alleged. But it is not opposed to any investigation by the South African Government or agency.

"The South African Government has pledged due process and fairness in managing the ongoing investigation. Certainly Nigeria is interested in having its cash back and this demand might require deeper diplomatic understanding."

It was however gathered that ex-Presidents Obasanjo

•Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun (3rd left), Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo (left), Olowu of Owu, Oba Olusanya Adegboyega Dosunmu (2nd left), his wife, Olori Bosun (4th right), Agura of Gbagura, Oba Halidu Laloko (2nd right), Osile, Oke-Ona Egba, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso (3rd right) and wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Bola (right) at the 2014 Owu Day celebration held in Owu, Abeokuta yesterday.

and Mbeki have waded into the matter to avert what a source described as "diplomatic impasse."

Another source said: "Obasanjo and Mbeki who initiated Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission in 1999 are worried that the arms deal might affect the robust economic relationship between both countries.

"They do not want the situation to degenerate into a diplomatic row because for some time, there had been some distrust between the two nations arising from the disagreement on the late Muammar Ghadaffi; the election of the Chairman of AU Commission; Yellow Fever Vaccine debacle and deportation of Nigerians; the trial of Henry Okah; and the latest arms deal. The two former Presidents have decided to reach out to Jonathan and Zuma any moment from now."

But there were indications yesterday that the Federal Government is not ready to disclose the identities of the Israeli and Nigerian who ferried the controversial $9.3million cash-for- arms-deal to South Africa.

A security chief said: "For strategic security reasons, we will not disclose the identities of these individuals. Apart from the insurgents being interested in them, some Western countries who lost the arms deal to those we engaged in South Africa might target them for business isolation.

"There is no way a nation will expose those helping it to danger because of 'crucial arms deal.' The Anti-Terrorism Act allows the nation's security agencies to take decisions in the overriding interest of the country."

…Randle, Agbaje, others fault retaliation against South Africa

S

OME Nigerians have described as unnecessary the plan by the Federal Government to deal with the business interests of South Africa owing to the diplomatic row between both countries over the botched $15milion arms deal.

Three weeks ago, the South African Customs had intercepted $9.3million from two Nigerians and an Israeli aboard a private jet belonging to the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor allegedly for the purchase of arms from a South African firm and another tranche of $5.7million for the same purpose last week was seized by the Asset Forfeiture Unit in the Office of the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) in South Africa.

Speaking at separate interviews with The Nation over the weekend, Bashorun JK Randle, Fred Agbaje, a lawyer, Dr. Jonathan Aremu,

Dr. Austin Nweze and others were categorical in condemning the Federal Government over the threat to retaliate against the socalled humiliation by its South African counterpart.

JK Randle, a chartered accountant and former gubernatorial aspirant in Lagos State said the federal government needs to tread with caution.

"In this matter, we need to be extremely careful. The best approach is not retaliation. What both governments can do is to use an independent body from both sides. Probably Nigeria can deploy senior diplomats, ex-public servants, and people of international standing to make sure that the matter doesn't get out of hand. If you say you're going to disrupt businesses, then you should know this would affect the financial and economic interest of both sides because there are so many jobs involved."

Expatiating, he said:

By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

"There is need to restore mutual confidence and mutual respect between both countries rather than pursue this in a hasty manner because at the end it is not only Nigeria's interest that would be jeopardised but African image as a whole is also under threat.

Echoing similar sentiments, Agbaje, a Lagos human rights lawyer, said, the federal government has no right whatsoever over South Africa. "There is nothing the Federal Government can do against South Africa because it is not under the apron string of Nigeria. The only thing that would suffer is mutual foreign relations of both countries.

Continuing, he said: "In terms of economic strangulation, South Africa will probably suffer more because they have more businesses domiciled here in

Nigeria. But be that as it may, Nigeria has no moral justification to punish South Africa for being recalcitrant with due diligence.

"He who must come to equity must come with clean hands. As far as the world knows, Nigeria has erred in this instance. We cannot foist a regime of impunity in a sovereign land and expect to get away with it. It's not possible. Nigeria must learn to obey the rules of law. Let's say no to the culture of impunity."

Aremu, an international relations expert was also on the same page with Agbaje.

According to him, Nigeria erred seriously under the international trade agreement. "In international trade you don't carry physical cash around. It's not done. What is applicable is that you open letter of credit and allow the corresponding banks to deal with it. As far as I know, it's extremely wilderness policy to engage in cash deal across the border because should

such monies be confiscated as we have seen in this instance, you're on your own."

Aremu who consults for ECOWAS and other multilateral organisations further noted that though under international diplomacy there is what is called the principle of reciprocity, however cautioned that Nigeria should not apply that principle in this instance because it doesn't arise.

"In this case, Nigeria deliberately erred by violating international trade agreement. If we take any step at this point we would be offending the other members of the global community who respect rule of law. The best thing we ought to do as a country is to accept our mistake and say we're sorry. It's as simple as that."

Speaking in the same vein, Nweze, a political economist berated both countries for the shoddy manner they handled the

botched arms deal.

While acknowledging the fact that the Federal Government was constrained into taking the action it took because of refusal of arm manufacturers in Europe and the USA to sell arms directly to Nigeria, Nweze, however, said all it would have taken was a phone call by the Federal Government to the South African authorities.

"All said, what I think we should do is to seek diplomatic way out of the mess. The decision by the Federal Government to deal with the business interests of South Africa is absolutely wrong. If the government goes ahead to sanction their businesses as it has threatened then it would be sending the wrong signals out there to other prospective investors. We should learn to separate politics from business. As a developing nation businesses should be allowed to thrive and not the other way round."

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

NEWS

Delta State government wades into NPDC/ community row

‘Delta North’s agitations for governorship seat uncalled for’

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba HE Delta State government has waded

From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughell S the jostling for who succeeds the incumbent governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan heightened, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP has said that the Delta North’s agitation for governorship position in the state is misplaced.

In a press statement by the chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, Chief Tony Erukeme, it explained that the Delta North has benefitted much in the state and should not be among the senatorial districts agitating for state governorship seat.

Erukeme who said that Delta North is currently playing host to the seat of government with other influential positions and appointments across the federation and should allow other senatorial districts have the same sense of belonging instead of this show of greed.

Highlighting some of the positions he said, “Look at where the seat of power is, Asaba, now aside that, they have all the federal appointments, agencies and parastatals such as Amb. Joy Ogwu, Nigeria Ambassador to the United Nations, Prof.

Sylvester Monye, Special Adviser to Mr. President on Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mrs. Ngozi Olejeme, National Social Insurance Trust Fund (also SURE-P), Mr. Peter Idabor, Director General of the National Oil Spill, Detection and Response Agency and a host of others.”

A

T

into the crises between eight oil producing communities in OML 30 and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Ltd (NPDC).

Some of the communities which spread across Delta Central and South senatorial districts include Kokori, Afiesierhe,Ewreni, Oleh and Olomoro.

It will be recalled that the aggrieved youths shut down production activities from the company’s flow stations in OML 30.

Mr. Omamuzo Erebe, the Director of People’s Rights, Delta State Ministry of Justice, who led the team including Mr. Aweka Avwenaghagha, Head Local Content Unit, Ministry of Oil Gas and the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor, Mr. Vincent Omorie, on Community matters, convened a mediation meeting with the parties on the 24th of September 2014.

The meeting which lasted several hours saw the parties jointly agreeing to certain resolutions in a bid to finally resolve the dispute.

The issues addressed at the meeting include, the signing of the already negotiated Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) and Status of Quick win projects amongst other agitations.

Akpabio to aspirants: ‘Get elected as wards delegates’

G

OVERNOR Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has charged aspirants jostling to take over from him as governor of the state under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to go back to their wards to be elected as delegates in the forthcoming primaries of the party.

Akpabio, who stated this while addressing thousands of party faithful and supporters who thronged the Ibom International Airport to welcome him, disclosed that the guidelines stipulate that only elected delegates at the ward level would be qualified to vote at the governorship and other elective primaries.

Akpabio who was accompanied by the state Chairman of the party, Obong Paul Ekpo, the Secretary to State Government, Mr Udom Emmanuel and other party elders on their return from a meeting with the Integration Committee of the PDP also promised that the party would ensure a level playing field for all aspirants contesting for positions.

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•From left: Cross River State governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, Ambassador Ashim Morton, Vice President Namadi Sambo and Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State during the Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize in Uyo...yesterday

Assassins kill Bayelsa electoral commission scribe U

NIDENTIFIED gunmen believed to be hired assassins have shot and killed the Executive Secretary of Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC), Chief Simeon Akpeni.

It was gathered that the victim was accosted by three gunmen over the weekend at about 9pm at his home on Elbethel Street, Ambassador Otiotio Road, Yenagoa.

In what seemed like assassination, the gunmen were said to have confronted Akpeni in front of his house and shot him on the head at close range.

It was learnt that the deceased had gone out for a business transaction with his brother at Mbiama, a border town between Bayelsa and Rivers states.

He was said to have later returned to Yenagoa where he attended a political meeting before going home.

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

It was further learnt that before his gruesome murder, the late Akpeni received a telephone call from someone who identified himself as an Engineer.

The caller was said to have requested him (Akpeni) to come for a meeting to “check something out.”

It was gathered that following the call, Akpeni left his house and called the number of the Engineer many times without success.

As the telephone number could not connect, the deceased reportedly decided to go back home.

Family sources said that he parked the car in front of his house when he saw three men walking towards him.

The men were said to have

had a brief discussion with their victim before firing him on the head at close range.

Shortly after the shooting, the wife of the victim was said to have heard the cry of her husband, rushed out and saw his lifeless body while the killers walked away.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Valentine Ntomchuckwu was said to have visited the family after the incident.

Ntomchukwu who confirmed the incident, said following the circumstances of the killing, the police were considering assassination among other motives.

He said the assailants could not have been robbers since they did not take any valuables away after shooting him.

He said that the wife of the deceased gave account of the

shooting of her husband and how the assassins disappeared through the other end of the street.

“In my opinion, it may be a case of assassination because they didn’t take anything away after killing him,” he said.

He confirmed that he visited the scene of the crime Friday evening immediately the police received signal.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Alex Ahkigbe who also confirmed the incident, said the police were already investigating the incident.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Lt. Col Bernard Kenebai (rtd) confirmed that the police boss visited the crime scene.

He said investigations would reveal the motive of the dastardly act adding that it was too early to jump into conclusion.

Rivers PDP chairman’s aide, family escape assassins’ bullets

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ARELY 48 hours after leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Rivers State and thugs engaged in a free for all in Abuja, the Special Adviser, Media to the Rivers PDP Chairman, Jerry Needam, and members of his family, narrowly escaped assassins’ bullets in their Port Harcourt residence.

The Thursday’s show of shame in Abuja took place at the national campaign office of the PDP in Maitama, Abuja, with the thugs, who used dangerous weapons, beating and injuring some leaders of the party from Rivers State, who were opposed to the governorship ambition of the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike.

The Rivers Chairman of the PDP, Chief Felix Obuah, however, claimed that Wike did not sponsor the thugs, while declaring that there would be no entry

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

into the PDP through the back door, while urging the members of the party to be law abiding.

Shortly after the Abuja fracas, Needam issued a press statement on behalf of Obuah and the Rivers PDP, describing the aggrieved leaders of the PDP as “known and expelled members of the party.”

Needam, an indigene of Kono-Ogoni in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers state, is also at the forefront of the mobilisation to ensure that Wike emerges as the governorship candidate of the PDP, not minding the fact that the Minister of State for Education and Governor Rotimi Amaechi are Ikwerre.

The anti-Wike PDP leaders, including Lolo Ibieneye, Prof.

Israel Owate, Anabs Sara-Igbe, Tabotamuno Dick, Dr. Sowaribi Tolofari and Chief Bekinbo Soberekon, who were to meet with members of the party’s National Integration Committee, South-South zone, led by Prof.

Iya Abubakar, before the attack, are clamouring for zoning of governorship in Rivers.

In a telephone interview last night, Needam said: “As tension builds up ahead of the 2015 elections, my family members and I escaped death between 4 am and 5 am today (yesterday), as four gunmen stormed our residence in Woji, Port Harcourt.

“The gunmen gained entrance into my premises.

Only my gateman was injured. He was tied hands back and locked inside the gate house. Police were invited

and they arrived after the gunmen had left in a speed boat. My house is close to the Woji River.

“My wife, my first son, two daughters, my elder sister, two of my wife’s siblings and my three-month-old son were with me in the house when the gunmen invaded.

Everybody is okay, but under tension. My gateman is being attended to in a private hospital in Port Harcourt.

“The matter has been reported officially to the police.

It may be connected to the political activities and tension building up in Rivers State.”

The Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muhammad Kidaya Ahmad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), who confirmed the incident, said no arrest had been made yet.

JTF promises peaceful elections in creeks

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HE Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, has declared its readiness for hitch-free elections in 2015.

The outfit at the weekend allayed security con-

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa cerns in the creeks of the oilrich Niger Delta region, saying it would collaborate with other security agencies to ensure peaceful elections.

JTF Commander, MajorGeneral Emmanuel Atewe, gave the assurance in Yenagoa when the new Air force Officer Commanding, the Mobility Command of the Nigerian Air force,

Yenagoa, Air-Vice Marshall Umar Omeiza, visited him.

He said the JTF had intensified arrangement to provide security logistics and give the region a platform for peaceful elections next year.

Suspected robber killed in gun fight with police in Warri From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

A

T least one person, a suspected armed robber, was confirmed killed, while three other persons; road users were injured when men of the Delta State Police Command engaged a gang of armed robbers in Warri at the weekend.

The gang, including four well armed men, had robbed one Ephraim Iyamukre, who had gone to withdraw money from the Okumagba Avenue branch of Diamond Bank, of the sum of N2.1 million at gun point.

Confirming the development in a statement, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Delta State Police Command, Celestina Kalu (DSP), said the hoodlums were making to escape with their ill-gotten loot, also being trailed by their victim, Iyamukre, when they got stuck in a traffic situation they caused by recklessly running into other vehicles on Ogunu Road. The accident on Ogunu Road attracted the attention of Quick Response Squad (QRS), which office is located around the vicinity, and in sighting the law enforcement agents, the robbers took to their heels, running in different directions, engaging the police men in a gun fight as they made to escape. Among things recovered from the scene of the incident included the sum of N2.1million taken from Iyamukre, a G3 rifle No. G310E393 with 19 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition and a Nokia-branded handset.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

NEWS

Aba artisans, industrialists rue power outage

Imo deputy governor donates to military hospital

I

MO State Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere, has donated a digital dental chair to Obinze 34 Artillery Brigade, Imo State Speaking at the commissioning ceremony of the equipment before the members of Obinze 34 Artillary Brigade community and neighbouring communities yesterday, the Garrison Commander, Gen.,T. A Adedoja, on behalf of the Brigade Commander, Gen. Bello, and the entire Artillery Brigade thanked the deputy governor for his magnanimity.

He also assured that the military hospital in the Brigade will make judicious use of the equipment for the benefits of its numerous patients.

In his statement after the commissioning of the equipment, Madumere expressed happiness over the installation of the equipment.

He narrated a story of the sorry state of the dental unit on his visit to the Artillery Brigade during the last Armed Forces Remembrance Day having underscored the strategic importance of the military hospital. He therefore made a promise to help to procure befitting equipment following the reliance of the people on the hospital both within and outside the barracks.

Madumere gave credit to Governor Rochas Okorocha who taught them to give and to reach out to the down trodden.

He described Okorocha as one of the rarest and greatest givers ever known.

Anambra lawmaker empowers youths, widows

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

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HE member representing Nnewi 2 Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Rita Maduagwu, has empowered youths and widows in four communities in her constituency by donating various items to them.

Some of the empowerment items to the widows and youths include motor-cycles, hair driers, grinding machines, among others, which were presented to her constituents yesterday at Ukpor in Nnewi South Local Government Area.

However, Maduagwu called on her constituents to take ownership of the projects attracted to their areas as such dividends of democracy were hard to come by.

Some of the projects attracted by the lawmaker in four of the communities in the area, namely Ukpor, Ezinifite , Ebenator and Akwaihedi that made up Nnewi South 2 Constituency include boreholes, school blocks and roads, among others.

Briefing reporters yesterday in Awka, she said the day had been set aside for showcasing projects which she had attracted to the communities.

Again she, said she would continue her youths and widows’ empowerment and constituency briefings in order to align herself with democratic benefits in her area.

Furthermore, Maduagwu said her tenure had been able to alleviate poverty in the lives of young people in the area through various sustainable projects she initialed.

From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

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ESIDENTS, traders and industrialists

•(L-R) Late Dimgba Igwe’s widow, Obioma, their four children, and his elder brother, Prince Hanson Igwe, during the burial of the former Vice Chairman of The Sun Publishers Limited, Dimgba Igwe, at Unu Ibiniukwu Igbere, Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, yesterday

Dimgba Igwe, ace journalist, goes home T

HE General Overseer of Fortress Ministry, Enugu, Pastor Emeka Onyebuchi, has admonished Christians to prepare their way for eternity while they are still breathing.

Onyebuchi, preaching during the burial ceremony of the late Dimgba Igwe, former Vice Chairman, The Sun Publishing Limited, at Unu Ibiniukwu Igbere, Bende Local Government Area of Abia State, yesterday described death as “a door into eternal life.”

After describing the two inevitable kingdoms (heaven and hell) that man must choose after death, Onyebuchi urged men to stop depending on their earthly riches.

According to him, “those with God will have a glorified body with which they are going to live with God till eternity.”

He described the late media guru as a man of “double engine,” excellence and someone that left his footprints in the sands of time.

“Dimgba, while he lived, stood as an icon in journalism and was never found wanting in

From Sunny Nwankwo, Igbere

his services to God and the church.

“Life is like a journey to the pilgrimage. It is a temporary residence for all, contrary to many people’s belief that it is a permanent place and that is why we should all amend our ways and choose our destinations while we are still living because there is no repentance in the grave.”

Abia State governor, Chief Theodore Orji, who was represented by his special adviser, Ifeanyi Iboko, said, “Abia has lost one of her dependable journalists, a good Christian,” adding that Dimgba deserved to live.

“It is sad and more painful when death takes someone that would have been saved if it were within the purview of man to save him from dying,” Orji said.

He urged the bereaved fam-

ily and those affected by the death of Dimgba to take heart as the state shares in their pains.

In his tribute, the publisher of Sun and the former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, described Igwe’s death as a great loss to the establishment, Igbere, Abia State and the country in general.

Kalu, who recalled how the late Dimgba contributed to the growth of Sun, said it was difficult dealing with the impact the loss of Dimgba has created, urging whoever that was touched by the death of the media icon to take solace that his former vice chairman, though dead, is resting in the bosom of God .

The elder brother of the deceased, Prince Hanson Igwe, described the death of his younger brother as one that occurred at the time the country, his family, his readers and the entire family needed him most.

Hanson said they were yet to accept the loss and regretted

that he was burying a man that was supposed to bury him if things were to be done the normal way.

Mike Awoyinfa, a columnist and former Managing Director of The Sun Publishing Limited, recalled how late Dimgba helped him regain his life on two incidents when he had close shove with death and described the death of his former colleague as one that ended a friendship that was found last 30 years.

According to Awoyinfa, “the story of my relationship with Dimgba should be the story of Nigeria where people should relate freely with each other regardless of our ethnic backgrounds.

“In the last 30 years of our friendship, Dimgba and I never quarrelled over money or anything. My promise to the family he left behind is that I will always support you at all times and will work hard to fulfill the dreams he left behind.”

The event was used to launch Dimgba Igwe Foundation to keep his dreams alive and assist the family he left behind.

Abia 2015: Orji’s aide, Ikeazu, joins guber race

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HE last has not been heard about the people who are interested in succeeding the incumbent governor, Chief Theodore Orji, come 2015, as one of his aides, and the General Manager of Abia State Environmental Agency [ASEPA], Dr Okezie Ikeazu, has resigned from office to join the race.

The resignation, which may have a rippling effect on the environmental sanitation condition of Aba, the commercial city of Abia State, has swelled the number of con-

Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

testants for the seat to eight for those jostling to take over from the incumbent governor come 2015.

Speaking with news men in his office in Aba yesterday, Ikpeazu announced his resignation, saying it was in furtherance of his intention to vie for the governorship of Abia State.

He said he had already forwarded his resignation letter to Governor Theodore

Orji, adding that his resignation took effect from October 10, 2014 after 15 months he was specifically assigned to keep Aba clean, which he has done to the best of his ability.

He said, “I am certain that there are still a lot to be done and I am equally convinced that my desire to become the next governor of Abia State will afford me a better opportunity to complete the cleanup, rebirth and rebuild our community in a more sustainable and holistic fashion”.

Ikpeazu, who is a biochemist, said his experience within the corridors of politics which spanned over 20 years has imbued in him the capacity to succeed, hence his confidence that he possessed the capacity to analyse the critical proactive solutions of the state’s development challenges.

He added, “I represent the home-bred stock of politicians in this clime with the requisite dynamism to harness all progressive-minded elements within and outside our environment.”

Pilgrims Board commences screening in Anambra

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HE Federal Commissioner, Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) in the South- East, Dr Zion Ibenye, has assured intending pilgrims in Anambra State that everybody would be screened, even as the exercise has be extended to Monday.

Before the screening exercise at the weekend, the State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, had inaugurated a screening committee led by Levi Monanu.

Obiano was represented by his deputy, Dr. Nkem Okeke, who called on the committee

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

members to work assiduously in making sure that there would not be any hitch during the exercise.

The committee had other members as AC Alor, Monsignor PC Muojekwu, Lady Ifeoma Ofoneme, Lady Patience Anagor, Dr. Innocent Okoye and Sunday Emmanuel (CSP).

Ibenye, who made the appeal to the intending pilgrims, said the two days allocated to Anambra for screening was not enough based on the situation

on ground.

He said the exercise had been extended to Monday to ensure that the aim of the pilgrim was not defeated by not screening people who had intentions of building up their spirituality.

‘We encourage Christians of various dominations to take a trip to the holy land as a way of revaluing their Christian life and re-dedication of their lives after witnessing the reality of Christ existence on earth.”

Also Dr Levi Monanu, Chairman of the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board in

Anambra and National Vice Chairman of state of conferences reminded the intending pilgrims that the trip was devoid of jamboree but a moment of stock taking.

He said that a trip to Israel was to witness the reality of Christ existence on earth and as a tool for transformation change in our daily living.

Bishop Ephraim Ndife, Anambra Chairman of Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN), said he was overwhelmed by the increase in the number of the intending pilgrims for 2014.

who depend on public power supply to run their homes and businesses in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia State, have decried the economic loss they have suffered two days after the whole city went into total darkness as a result of power outage.

Though reasons for the sudden and unannounced power outage could not be officially ascertained at press time, information has it that it could not be unconnected with the recent sealing of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) offices in Aba and other parts of the state by the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue over non-remittal of taxes to the coffers of the state government.

Sources said EEDC embarked on the revenue drive after they got a court order to effect such closure.

It could be recalled that Abia Board of Internal Revenue had in the past carried a similar operation in Umuahia and Aba but it was not clear how the matter was resolved even though the closure didn’t affect electricity supply in the state then.

Some respondents who spoke to our correspondent in Aba on Saturday described the power outage as counterproductive to their businesses.

Mr. Ephraim Nwachukwu, a welder in Aba, said, “We learnt that some people from Umuahia came to Aba to seal their offices. Though the story behind the Board of Internal Revenue’s visit is still sketchy, “some say it was a debt owed by PHCN before they were acquired by EEDC. But our concern is how shutting down of their premises affect electricity supply?

This is why we want another independent power distribution in Aba. “The two or three days we have stayed without power from EEDC has affected our businesses negatively and we want the state government and EEDC to resolve their issues amicably so that we can have light to do our businesses,” he said An Ice block dealer, Mrs. Ngozi Ihekwaba, said “it is cheaper for us to power our ice block machine with power from the general public source of power supply than using generator. You cannot compare the hours it will take a block to form using generator with what it takes a block to form using public power supply.”

An official of the Board of Internal Revenue, who spoke on anonymity, said they embarked on the action not to cause hardship on anybody, but to make sure that debt owed to the state government was recovered.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

NEWS REVIEW

18 hours in Taraba's d

•Local miners in one of the diamond fields in Mayo-Sina

T

HE story sounds unconvincing. A jungle turned into a town overnight. A wilderness springing up in barely nine months to become a densely populated settlement with an average population of over 200,000 persons. That is the true story of Mayo-Sina, a mineral rich area on the Mambilla Plateau in Nguroje, Sardauna local government area of Taraba State.

Mayo-Sina is now popularly referred to as 'The Blue Village.' Just ask anyone within its environs that you want to locate Blue and he will show you the route.

Over 2000 years ago, the area had been a quiet vast land where the mountain people graze their livestock. No one had ever thought of the area as a dwelling place, what more, becoming the fastest growing settlement in the country and perhaps the world. Today, the rich mineral deposits of the area have changed its story. "Blue diamond" and other precious stones in Mayo-Sina have brought all the people that are now 'industrialising' the area.

Booming economy, expanding growth The people - miners and buyers, have come from across Nigeria and the neighbouring West African countries. In the Blue, you will find, for instance, a Yoruba who has come from Ibadan or Lagos, an Igbo from Anambra or Enugu and a Hausa from Kaduna or Sokoto. You will also find many who are indigenes of Taraba: Kaka, Mambilla, Jukun, Ichen, Chamba, Tiv, Kona, Fulani, Kuteb, Mumuye, Panso and Jenjo to mention only a few. There are also miners and dealers who have come from Niger, Cameroun, Ghana, Chad, Ivory Coast Togo, Benin Republic and Senegal.

What attracts the most attention in the Blue Village is not even the mining sites but the settlement. You will marvel at how the place was swiftly built up, and how the dwelling structures have continued to expand at a geometric pace.

One observer said the area has grown faster than Nigeria's federal capital territory Abuja and may perhaps go down in history as the fastest growing settlement in the world.

Within the few months of its formation in January this year, Mayo-Sina is already exhibiting the features of a typical urban settlement, in terms of pattern, population, social and political

All roads now lead to the newly found diamond village on the Mambilla Plateau of Taraba State, where Nigerians across the country and other foreigners are flocking in search of hard currency. FANEN IHYONGO, Senior Correspondent tells the sweet and bitter story of how people make 'quick money' in the area now popularly referred to as the 'Blue Village.' characteristics. Several associations and trade unions have been formed. The features of societal social stratification -the distinction between the upper and lower class of the inhabitants are starkly visible in the types of buildings they erect. You can see the difference between the patriarch and the commoner, the rich and the poor etc. The settlement agglomeration -slums and sewage disposing systems have been formed. Many churches and mosques have been built. For example, the Roman Catholic Church and Deeper Life have opened their branches there after the Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN) Secretariat had been opened. Many families who are said to have permanently relocated to the area are thinking of establishing a school in the area for their children to attend. The people are also yearning for a bank to open a branch there for safe keeping of cash.

There are three commercial viewing centres where people watch movies and the local and European premier league matches such as La Liga, Seria A, Bundesliga and the English Premier League (EPL) etc. Clubbing joints have been opened and commercial sex workers are not left out. They have reportedly secured a place with a plan to build a brothel where they can ply their trade freely. Food restaurants, bars, boutiques, provisions, drugs (both native and orthodox) cosmetics and electronic shops have been opened. Small machines like motorbikes and generators are also sold.

GSM centres where people buy and repair mobile phones, charge their phone batteries and make commercial calls have been opened. A

nearby knoll provides 'natural' network and the people are also planning of inviting the GSM network service providers (MTN, Glo and Airtel) to come and launch their masts in the area.

At night, the Blue village glows like a mega metropolis on a hill or a galaxy of celestial bodies viewed from a telescope. Its gleaming and illumination are in the fact that it is a town built in the jungle. The place bubbles till midnight but everyone except their security operatives must close by 9:00p.m. You can club till dawn but the law is that you stay indoors. The Blue has a tight security, made up of a joint army, police and vigilante group. Residents said there has not been any case of armed robbery since the place was found. "Some houses are made of grasses or polythene, but there has not been any case of burglary," one miner told The Nation.

The multiplier effect of the factors of industrialisation is at play. Different traders have flocked to the area with their services and commodities. You will find zinc, wood planks, cement and other building materials to erect your shelter. There are even car dealers for anyone who hits the jackpot and wants to buy a car on the spot.

A huge army of persons -men, women and children have flocked the Blue village, and many more are immigrating there on a daily basis. The demographic pull factor there is diamond, which is easily turned into hard currency. Before the Blue Village was discovered, a lot of mineral deposits had been left untapped on the Mambilla Plateau for centuries.

"We are all here to find diamond. The diamond is money. It has brought every person you see

here. The town you are seeing grew because of the search for Blue," said Mrs. Helen Joseph, a Kaka indigene from Baruwa, Gashaka local government area of Taraba State. Mrs. Joseph, 36, has spent only two weeks in Mayo-Sina, but she said she is making it. "I realised N10,000 the first day I arrived here," she told The Nation. She said she heard the news from neighbours and decided to come and witness what was happening in the area. But since coming, she said she is no longer thinking of leaving.

Michael Akura, 47, is Tiv from Benue State. He said he also heard the interesting gist about the place and decided to go there. Akura who has completed a month in the Blue Village described the local mining business as lucrative.

Hamidu Umar, 42, is a local miner from Sokoto. He was seen at the Blue Vllage with his son and three of his brothers searching for precious stones. He said he has been in the business for 18 years, from which he takes care of his wife and other family members. He said he has got more than N5 million since he arrived the Blue village in March.

Money spinners The Nation also spoke to the buyers who are referred to as "dealers." There are two types of dealers. There are middlemen or agents who buy directly from the miners -referred to as labourers.

The middlemen sell to the main dealers who have come from different parts of the continent.

Hamasumo Salihu, 45, is another veteran dealer in local mining. He said for the past 15 years he has not done any other business than mining. "This is what I have been doing as a source of living for the past 15 years," he said. He said he had ventured into local mining just to keep body and soul together. But along the line his luck shone and he achieved a lot from the business. Sitting next to Salihu were two other dealers: Mustapha Aliyu, 28, and Ismaila Gidado, 25. Aliyu and Gidado came into the diamond field one day in July and since then have become partners in the business of buying and reselling precious stones.

The cost of diamond depends on its quality.

Quality here is determined by its purity, size and colour. The blue diamond, for instance, is more expensive than the white or green diamond. One gram of pure blue can cost from N200, 000 to

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

NEWS REVIEW

11

s diamond fields •Fanen Ihyongo (right) with his motorcyclist/guard Buba Jauro Umar at the Blue Village

•The Blue diamonds

• Some of the local miners at Mayo-Sina

•Some of the holes, caves where the miners were killed N1million, depending on its quality and the bargaining forces and type of dealer involved.

Abdulkadri Ibrahim, 33, who has 14 year experience in the business said a single stone costs more than tiny diamonds assembled together, even if they weigh the same grams. The market theory of demand and supply also works here. So the cost of diamond in Mayo-Sina also depends on bargaining and purchasing powers as well as the eagerness of the labourer to sell his commodity.

One labourer had sold a diamond weighing 59 grams to an agent for N8 million who later resold

it for N20 million. The highest sale has been N32 million by a young man of less than 20 years. Eyewitnesses said the buyer had even enticed him with a Kia Jeep gift before buying the commodity for N32 million. Many others have also made between N500,000 and N2 million. Another woman sold tiny diamonds weighing 89.3 grams for N200,000.

Looking at the site, you will think at least 20 bulldozers are at work. No, the miners are using blunt implements such as hoe, digger and bare hands to dig the earth in search of the precious

stones. The cold weather provides a clement atmosphere for miners to work throughout the day.

Many of the miners and dealers had gone for Sallah break when The Nation Correspondent visited the site last week. Those who have become residents of Mayo-Sina said the place is usually so crowded that people walk sideways. "If you had come here before Sallah, and you miss a partner two steps behind you, he would not be able to locate you," one resident said.

Part of the population, sources said, come from other neighbouring areas like Gembu and Nguroje to work and go home every day, while others have become permanent residents in Mayo-Sina.

The place has become a tourist destination where other people go to find out what is going on there.

Speaking to The Nation, the people of MayoSina have called on the attention of the state and federal government to come to their aid, by providing them with mineral deposits exploration and mining devices. They want clinics, schools and other basic social amenities.

REPORTER’S DIARY

Rough road to Blue Village I

had gone to Wukari, some 200 kilometres from Jalingo, to do a report and was on my way back when my phone rang. It was my Editor, Festus Eriye, calling. Newspaper editors are like Army Generals to their reporters. Their calls are not just for exchange of pleasantries. They are very busy people. So when they call, they are calling to give you an assignment or get clarifications on a report or photographs you have earlier sent. You listen to them with attentiveness.

Their calls are not received where the atmosphere is noisy. We have more respect for them than the owners of the paper. But editors are not cruel beings. We respect them for their intellect and discipline. Theirs is to make us grow and ensure the paper is up to date without flops.

Thus, since I had not written for that week's edition, my mind told me he was calling to give me a new task. My hypothesis was right.

"Go to where illegal mining is going on in Taraba and do a report for the Sunday issue. I learnt people are dying there. Find out what is the cause," he said. In order to dodge the assignment I quickly told him I didn't know the place. He said he would call back to give me the details. For several hours he did not call and I thought it was over. Then, a little after, he called.

Then I had arrived Jalingo and I asked him to send a text message because I was not getting him right. He did not relent. His sms burst into my phone at night, leaving no room for me to escape the task. I read the message and got set for the trip.

On the road By 6:00a.m on Wednesday I was at the Kakara Transports Park. Kakara provides the best vehicles and commercial transport services from Jalingo to Gembu, Sardauna local government headquarters. So, with N2000 I secured a seat in one of their Hummer buses and before 7:00a.m we were off to the Mambilla Plateau.

Fanen Ihyongo in Jalingo writes on his trip to 'Blue Village'

The road to the blue village, the multi-million naira industrial village is not a smooth cruise. We passed through Garba Chede and Bali enrouter Serti to the plateau. At the breathtaking plateau, we meandered through the serpentine road, catching glimpses of the greenery, to the top where the weather became cool with fresh air.

There are uncountable roadblocks on the way, manned in different zones by the army, police, immigration officials and the anti-drug agency, NDLEA. Drivers are always handy with N50 denomination to pay to avoid delays. Okada riders, known in the local parlance as "achaba," pay N20 while pickups pay N100. "Don't waste my time; where is my N50?" one soldier at a certain checkpoint asked the driver conveying us. The soldier unashamedly told the driver he does not care about the content in his bus, but his N50 which he must cart home. Some soldiers have employed the services of local boys who mark motorcycles that pay the compulsory N20 fee with bold pens.

So, for a journalist who has the nose for news, everything about the trip to Blue was exhilarating and good gist for a news story. The behaviours of the so-called security agents manning checkpoints of which they do not check vehicles, the beautiful sceneries as well as the rugged part of the trip provides adequate ingredients for a feature article.

I alighted at a roundabout in Nguroje -a settlement few kilometres before Gembu. But before getting to Nguroje we started seeing the diamond-rich site from a distance. The gist about happenings in the place rent the bus. I listened with keen ears and curiosity. I began to write down

points relevant to my mission. A co-passenger then said: "that place has become something else."

To prompt him to say more, I asked vaguely: "what did you mean when you said the place is something else?" He quickly added: "If you want to make quick money go there, if you want to spoil that is where you can spoil easily." "You mean it?" I asked. He continued: "I mean everything is there. If you are looking for women -whether for marriage or quick sex, Blue is the right place to go." For a reporter who would want to avoid the remaining rugged part of the trip, the story was complete, but without the firsthand juice of the real story. Thus, after alighting at Nguroje, I boarded a motorcycle for the final trip to the Blue.

The road was rough, sloppy and risky.

I was lucky to have met Buba Jauro Umar, a 19-year old brilliant and talented Fulani chap. As an indigene of Nguroje, Umar knows every nook and cranny of the area. Hardly a day passes without him plying the route to the site. He has great acumen and skills in riding motorcycles on the mountains, which he said he started at tender age.

And his Sanya bike is one of the best motorcycles used on the mountainous terrain.

From Nguroje to Mayo-Sina on bike costs from N500 to N1000, depending on your appearance and how you bargain. Umar said I should pay him N500. I agreed and off we hit the ineffably bad road. We hacked through the precarious rutted and rugged route, descending steep slopes and climbing spurs. The motorcyclist said I was fortunate not to have come on a rainy day when the road would have been in its worst state. He

said rains make the road more slippery and dangerous. You can get wounded when the bike stumbles or you can easily slither off into one of those bottomless gorges without anyone recovering your corpse. Yet, Umar was speeding.

He was doing his trade against time. Time is money, and Umar knows the value of time as it relates to his business. At several instances, I implored him to reduce the speed. "Hankali!" (be careful) I shouted in Hausa severally. I clung fast to the bike as it jumped, ascending the spurs and descending the valleys. Umar knows how to speed, apply the brakes and when to suspend acceleration. He switches the engine off when descending to economise his fuel.

We encountered four roadblocks, manned

by Immigration officials, army, the police and civil defence. Each of them collects a compulsory "clearance fee" of N100 from every passing okada without issuing receipts. Although once you make the payments for the first trip of the day, you do not pay again for the rest of the trips made that day. Umar had already made his payments before my trip.

We bumped into fat cattle grazing. The beasts do not yield to our hooting horn as they saunter sluggishly blocking the narrow lane. It was also difficult at certain parts of the road giving way for motorcycles coming in the opposite direction.

After several minutes we were finally at Mayo-Sina -the diamond rich area. The road descends abruptly on a steep slope into a massive trough that is dissected by a stream called Sina.

To get to the main site without entering into swamps, you have to cross a wooden bridge.

But you must pay a toll fee. If you are there to get a space to erect a business or dwelling structure, you will pay a fee to a group of people who refer to themselves as indigenes. So, everything thing about the Blue now is money.

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Ropo Sekoni

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Page 14

Femi Orebe Page 16

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

tunjade@yahoo.co.uk 08054503906 (sms only)

I

T was a trip that should have lasted between seven to eight hours on a good day; that is considering the ongoing construction works on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, but which ordinarily should not have lasted more than four hours, other things being equal. But because Nigeria is not a place where other things can be taken for granted, I ended up making the journey from Lagos to Oyo and back, a total distance of about 340 kilometers, in 21 hours, no thanks to the ubiquitous but invisible 'Nigerian factor'!

That was my experience on Friday, October 3. When I left my house at exactly 7.55 a.m. on that day, I had projected that I would be back latest by 9.00 p.m. That was because I thought I had to accommodate all the factors - known and unknown. Of course, I thought I had made ample provision for the Holy Ghost Night usually held every first Friday of the month by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) at the popular Redemption Camp on the ever-busy expressway. I was later told that the 'fall down and die' people too, that is the Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM) for short, were also going to have their service early Saturday morning. These two events, being the crowd pullers that they usually are, are enough to make an intending traveller on that road think twice before embarking on any journey on such a day.

Indeed, those who travel frequently on the road had warned me to prepare for a long journey. I did not ignore their warnings, because I had heard tales of people 'sleeping' on the expressway but I never experienced it. It only turned out that I underestimated their warning. As a matter of fact, it was the warning that made me add about five hours to my expected arrival time. But the (then approaching) Ileya festival for which the Federal Government declared October 6 and 7 public holidays to enable the Muslim faithful celebrate compounded the woes of travellers on the road.

All appeared smooth initially, save for occasional hiccups on the expressway, due to the construction works on it, until we nearly got to Ibadan; that was when we began to have a feel of what to come. Indeed, that was when my projections began to fall flat in the face of reality. We eventually got to Oyo at about 3.30 p.m. after crawling in the traffic in the ancient city of Ibadan for more than two hours. Having lost so much time on the road, I hurriedly transacted my business in Oyo, and about one and a half hours later, we left for Ibadan on the return trip to Lagos, arriving the Oyo State capital at about 5.30 p.m.

It was too smooth from Oyo to Ibadan that I almost wanted to start proving the 'bookmakers' who had predicted bedlam on the road, wrong.As a matter of fact, I had started to dream about attending the vigil on the day, which I still would have been able to make if traffic flow had been as smooth from Ibadan to Lagos as it was, first from Ibadan to Oyo, and vice versa. But just at about when I should have started to jubilate that things were turning out well on the road, I saw this intimidating traffic ahead of me. It was so serious that from about 5.30

Keeping vigil on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Nightmarish 21 hours from Lagos to Oyo and back at 13 km/ h

•Mike Onolememen, works minister

p.m. when we arrived Ibadan, we did not get out until well past 11.00p.m. My wife who had earlier advised against our returning to Oyo to pass the night when it was still possible (because it got to a point when it was no longer feasible even if we had changed our mind, because of the chaotic traffic situation) must have seen the sense in my suggestion too late, as we both sat in the car watching the clock tick every second, every minute, every hour. When I heard people say they slept on the expressway, I had always thought they parked their vehicles and slept off.

It was when I 'slept' on the road too that I realised that it was vigil that those people actually had.

No one behind the wheel could sleep because sleep was a luxury that could hardly be afforded as traffic became like the thief in the night (unpredictable), moving at a snail's pace unannounced when it would, only to be followed by another long wait on the spot.

It was such a dreadful experience that was better imagined. But the journey was another terrible narrative of everything peculiarly Nigerian. All that a first-time visitor needed to do was observe proceedings on such a day on the expressway and he would return home with volumes to write about our country, our government and our people. This country must be one of the few places in the world where we would be losing such long man-hours to traffic frequently on a single road (never mind the fact that it is a major artery) without anybody getting worried, not to talk of bothering to tell us its implications in economic terms.

One thing that immediately came to mind seeing the high volume of traffic on the expressway is security. From my observation, it seems we are just at the mercy of God because I did not notice much security presence. Perhaps the few occasions when we saw either policemen or soldiers were when such security personnel led the convoy of motorists driving against traffic. One would have expected that the security men would insist that motorists maintain their lanes; but no. Rather, they led the way while the other law breakers joined them, leaving the law-abiding motorists stranded on the road.

Of course, more people became law breakers the moment they saw there was no one to

“It was such a dreadful experience that was better imagined. But the journey was another terrible narrative of everything peculiarly Nigerian. All that a first-time visitor needed to do was observe proceedings on such a day on the expressway and he would return home with volumes to write about our country, our government and our people”

enforce the law and that those who should were merely interested in making a way for themselves. The result was the chaotic traffic situation from both ends of the expressway the Lagos end and the Ibadan end.

For sure, this cannot be the way valuable time is wasted on the road in other places simply because roads are being constructed.

Hardly could anyone travel in such circumstance with his or her life remaining the same after the trip. Agreed, things might often have to get worse before getting better, but people do not have to die before they can enjoy good roads. The way it is on the expressway, Nigerians must have been dying in installment, especially those who use that road regularly. To say that the knots and bolts in their bodies (not only those of the vehicles they are travelling in) would have been giving way gradually is stating the obvious. That is one of the reasons why so many people die here usually 'after a brief illness'. Many of them have been dying gradually before death finally came and when we cannot understand why, we blame the deaths on witches and wizards. How much blood would the witches and wizards drink? Unfortunately, we make those claims unchallenged because those being accused cannot sum up the courage to defend themselves publicly.

Then the many big potholes on the road.

These include the RCCG area, the MFM axis, etc. These potholes naturally slow down traffic significantly. Lagos Traffic Radio talks about them almost every day such that even people who don't frequently travel on the expressway but who listen to the station regularly must have known about these portions of the road; in which case it is assumed that government officials are also aware of the state of the axes. Nothing stops the contractors from regularly fixing the potholes to save motorists the hassles that they experience, especially ithis rainy season.

One other thing is the darkness that pervades the highway at night. One can only hope that our leaders who awarded the ongoing contract for the expansion of the road took provision of lights into consideration because no matter how good the road is, if it is not well lit; criminals who operate ithere would continue to have a field day.

All said, perhaps the main question is why are there no alternative means of transportation, especially in an important axis like the Lagos-Ibadan route, bearing in mind its overall importance to the nation's economy? Without doubt, many of the vehicles causing the gridlock would not have been there if, for instance, our railway is functioning well. Some experts have even said that it is only a question of time; the expansion going on on the road would not be able to accommodate the volume of traffic there. Are we preparing for such eventuality?

Why can't we have a flyover near the RCCG Camp that would make people not going to the place escape the traffic that those bound for the camp experience?

Much as one commends the Goodluck Jonathan government for expanding the road, it should ponder these issues so that whatever amendments that can be done now would be accommodated before it is too late so that we do not go back to square one immediately we start experiencing the euphoria of the expansion. It would be suicidal to make travellers on that road pass through this harrowing experience again sooner than later.

CHIBOK GIRLS. STILL IN LIMBO. SINCE APRIL 15.

Plagiarism, copyright: matters arising

M

Y understanding of plagiarism is when you take someone's work and republish it verbatim as your own work. I don't do that. But if I have ever done that in the past then I apologize. It was an oversight. I admit that I have used photos without giving credit. I apologize. That will never happen again. You learn every day. And I have learnt from this.

The above quotation is by Linda Ikeji, publisher of lindaikeji.blogspot.com responding to the re-opening of her blog by Google.

I am a fan of Linda Ikeji, Nigeria's undisputed leading blogger, not necessary her blog, for one particular reason. The young lady has made a huge success of a task many journalists and others have dismissed as idle indulgence.

While many traditional journalists are still pontificating about who is the real professional or not, Linda and her clan of digital natives have perfected the act of redefining publishing in a new media age.

I appreciate the concerns about the excesses and violations by many bloggers and online writers but the truth is that information dissemination can never be the same again.

Journalists used to be called gatekeepers but there are no more gates for information in newsrooms with mobile phones and social media now available for citizens.

When the news broke last week about almighty Google shutting down Linda's blog for alleged plagiarism, the reactions of her critics was that she got what she deserved, having been accused in the past of publishing unattributed reports from other sources.

Linda's apology at the beginning of this piece should suffice for those insist that she is guilty as charged, even when she claims that the shutting down of her has nothing to do will plagiarism but a breakdown of communication between her and a friend who has been involved in the development of her blog in the past who now felt ignored.

To be sure, Linda is not the only one guilty of plagiarism of one kind or the other in the country. Virtually every medium including the traditional media have used materials from other sources without proper attribution.

Violation of copyrights has become so common in the country that someone noted that copyright in Nigeria means to copy rightly.

Notwithstanding that there are so many culprits doesn't make it right. It is wrong for anyone to pass on another person's job as his or hers. Materials from other sources must not only be properly attributed, but necessary permission should be sought.

I recently wrote a story about the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E.A Adeboye saying that he was not interested in living up to 100 which was published on The Nation Newspaper website www.thenationonlineng.net.

Some many blogs and websites including Linda's republished the story with the exact quotes in my story without acknowledging The Nation as their source.

Publications republishing exclusive reports of another publication without permission, however long it takes to be authorised to do so, are guilty of ' reaping from where they did not sow'. There is need to begin to name and shame publications indulging in unrestrained plagiarism and copyright violations to encourage more original contents instead of repetition of the same 'exclusive' reports across websites and blogs.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

COMMENT

As our country's denialist culture festers

G

OING by the writings of several pundits, a major aspect of what is known as the Nigeria Factor is compulsive denialism.

This disposition is present in both leaders and followers in the country. It is not uncommon for an average Nigerian parent to avoid confronting the stark realities of the health conditions of his or her child by saying "I reject that kind of illness in Jesus name." Instead of following doctor's suggestion about seeking medical help, such parents would opt to take their dependents to a vigil. Some Nigerians even tried to internationalize this disposition by convincing Sawyer of Liberia that the best place to cure Ebola is in Nigeria, not in the hospital but in meeting houses for prayer warriors.In the last two weeks, denialism took a front seat in the corridor of power.

After City Press in South Africa broke the news of a failed $5.7 million arms supply or purchase contract between Cerberus Risk Solutions in Cape Town and SocieteD'EquipmentsInternationaux in Abuja (do not be surprised that French has become one of the languages in Abuja), power-wielding Nigerians threw diplomatic finesse overboard.

In response to the delay by South Africa to refund the money for undelivered arms to Nigeria, arising principally from what NathiMncube of South Africa called normal investigation of the deal between Cerberus and SocieteD'Equipments, the National Security Adviser attempted to stare South Africa down by reminding the country of its investments in Nigeria: "Nigeria has provided a beneficial environment for South African companies like MTN, DSTV, and a host of others to do business unhindered‌.It is our hope that South Africa would reciprocate this noble gesture."

What is the National Security Adviser trying

It is not uncommon for an average Nigerian parent to avoid confronting the stark realities of the health conditions of his or her child by saying "I reject that kind of illness in Jesus name." to achieve by this statement? Is this to urge Nigeria to punish South Africa for following its own procedures? Is the reference to Nigeria's generosity to South Africa's businesses in Nigeria a call on Nigeria to create stumbling blocks for businesses like MTN, DSTV, Shoprite, and many others in different parts of Nigeria? By announcing that Nigeria provides an environment for South Africa to do business in Nigeria unhindered,is the NSA implying that what Mncube calls investigation constitutes a hindering of Nigeria's arms deal with Cerberus?

Or, is the NSA suggesting that Nigeria throw out the baby of investment from South Africa with the bathwater of a failed arms purchase?

Given the enthusiasm of President Jonathan on attracting foreign investment to Nigeria to support his Transformation Agenda, it is unlikely that the country's foreign minister will be prepared to apply the stick on South African business in Nigeria. As we speak, the country is in the process of reviewing its Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) in collaboration with and in compliance with requirements by Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, all with the hope of increasing flow of foreign capital into Nigeria (OECD). In addition, President Jonathan's speech in September 2012 at a dinner organized for him by the Corporate Council on Africa acknowledged the centrality of foreign investment to Nigeria's foreign policy thrust: "Let me re-state here that Nigeria's foreign policy is now anchored on the realization of this Transformation Agenda through the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment‌.Under the new policy thrust, our diplomatic missions abroad have been directed to focus more on attracting investment to support the domestic programme

of government with a view to achieving not only our Vision 20:2020, but to bequeathing an enduring legacy of economic prosperity."

The new school of thought championed by the NSA that views foreign investment (such as South Africa has made in Nigeria in quantum) as the result of a favour from Nigeria counters the President's belief that such investments are needed to move Nigeria's economy into a higher gear. What is required at this time in our relations with South Africa is not to harass the country for bringing MTN, DSTV, and Shoprite to Nigeria, it is to face squarely the realities thrown up by the failed arms deal between Cerberus and SocieteD'Equipments.

South Africa's investments in Nigeria should not be seen as the result of a generosity on the part of Nigeria. Such investments are of mutual benefits to both countries; otherwise, we would not have needed to rebase our economy by factoring into our GDP the contributions of MTN to the economy. Nigeria may have lost the argument with respect to the exportation of $9.3 million cash to shop for arms three weeks ago in South Africa, but the NSA and other powerful figures in government should not act or talk as if we have also lost the argument with respect to a money transfer of $5.7 million to Cerberus to supply us with arms of various categories. If South Africa needs to be convinced that the entire process was transparent and that Cerberus has nothing to hide, we are big financially buoyant enough to be patient in waiting for the end of investigation and the release of our money that should follow such investigation. It is important to know that the ball with regards to $5.7 million is no longer in our court, but in South Africa's court for now.

The domestic wing of our governance is not saved from denialism. The INEC has been warning politicians that the lid on political campaign has not been lifted. Where has the INEC been since all these years of deflections from one party to another and high-wattage political statements of condemnation of one party's policies by another? In a truly democratic space, the day after one election is the beginning of the preparation for the next election. For an organization of INEC's independence to pretend that political campaign has not started months after several organizations have been drafting or endorsing President Jonathan for another tenure is to hide one's head in the sand.

It is about time to do away with relics of military dictatorship. Setting a timetable for elections is different from setting a timetable for political campaigns. We did not have that culture until the advent of military dictatorships in the country. Without doubt, restricting the time political parties can sell their ideologies and programmes to the electorate smacks of curtailing citizens' freedoms of speech and association. Let us hope that the next National Assembly in 2015 will see the wisdom in demilitarizing the country's political culture. No citizen should be given the power to open and close political campaigns. This is tantamount to turning a normal democratic process into a periodic ritual.

It has also just been reported that the President had directed that the courtsin Ekiti should not resume sitting. If this report is true, this shows a predilection for avoiding to face reality frontally.If the report is accurate, then some major disaster must have happened to the principle of separation of powers in our country. Is the independence of the judiciary no longer part of the culture of democracy here, despite claims about independent judiciary in the current constitution? Except in a situation of war, it is not proper for the president to shut down any of the other two branches of government: the legislature and the judiciary.

I hope the last is yet to be heard about the opening or re-opening of the court in Ekiti, to allow the judges in that state do their job and, in the process, add value to the country's democracy.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

COMMENT

15

The $5.7m arms deal Coming on the heels of the $9.3m similar scandal, calls for caution in taking reprisal actions against S/Africa

T

HE Jonathan presidency appears very prone to scandals. The frequency has now become so casual that historians in years to come, referencing Nigeria of this era, may refer to it as one of 'one week, one trouble'. Last week, just as Nigerians were trying to make sense of the senseless hauling of humongous $9.3 million cash, illegally into South Africa, for so-called arms deal, in a private citizen's aircraft, another scandal broke that South Africa has again seized another $5.7 million, also paid under questionable circumstances to a South African firm, for arms. While the Nigerian government is fretting and threatening retaliatory measures, the South African government is subjecting the monies to investigation.

Just like in the first instance, there have been babbles of official reaction. But, why has Nigeria, which was once respected as the undisputed leader of Africa, become an object of international ridicule, even in Africa? While South Africa is invoking its laws, which allegedly have been broken by the alleged arms transaction, Nigeria on its part is threatening to deal with South Africa's economic interests in Nigeria, for what it considers orchestrated diplomatic embarrassment by South Africa. Without equivocation, these developments go to confirm that Nigeria's diplomatic standing in the comity of nations has fallen very low, for the status of a nation determines how she is treated by others under international relations. To stem the tide, those who are in charge of our country must rise up to reclaiming our international glory.

Even while awaiting findings from South Africa, the two alleged arms transactions unfortunately show that our government officials have been very tardy over the so-called arms purchase transactions. While the ugly side of Nigeria was clearly exposed by the handlers of the $9.3 million, who illegally moved

W

E are compelled to use this medium to intimate you of deliberate and systematic attempt to prevent us from participating in democratic processes. We have observed that you have released the timetable for collection of nomination forms between 2nd and 11th of October, 2014, and as it is that our certificate has not been issued due to no fault of ours or non-compliance with stipulated guidelines on political party registration, we will be shut out in the coming process just the way we were denied participation in both Ekiti and Osun states gubernatorial elections that were recently held despite that we were qualified to participate by the spirit of Section 78(4) of the electoral act 2010 as far back as December 5th,

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

•Editor Festus Eriye •Deputy Editor Olayinka Oyegbile •Associate Editors Taiwo Ogundipe Sam Egburonu

•Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye

a manner that is untoward, merely to cover Nigeria's own shortcomings. The fact that we do many things with impunity in our country does not mean we should be angry with another country that believes in the sanctity of its own laws.

We also disagree with the threat made by the National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, that Nigeria would resort to strong arm tactics against South Africans' economic interests in Nigeria, in retaliation for the monies seized by South Africa. While such tactics fall into what is referred to as real- politik in international relations, such a threat can only be legitimate where it is established that South Africa is extending similar unfavourable diplomatic standards to Nigerian companies doing business in that country. But, if as in the current imbroglio, Nigeria through her own inefficiencies or through unlawful conducts exposes herself to losses; it should bow its head in regret and work against a repeat of such tardiness the next time. That is the honourable thing to do, not bare-knuckle diplomacy, which may further ridicule the country in the comity of nations.

As we have always argued, the Jonathan presidency must show by its conduct that it deserves the high office it occupies. While it should work hard to overcome the security challenges facing our country, we doubt whether in pursuit of that, it should resort to all manner of tactics. Indeed, if our reputation is secure as it should be, we fail to understand how any decent country would deny Nigeria access to arms, if we sought to buy. After all Nigeria has been always at the behest of the United Nations in quelling crisis across the world.

So, why would South Africa, which Nigeria spent huge material and diplomatic resources to rescue from apartheid, refuse us arms, if we make a legitimate demand?

LETTER

D

IMGBA Igwe's death, shocking as it were, was unexpected. Who could have imagined that a man who woke up hale and hearty on September 6, 2014, who said his prayers and then set out for the rigours of the day's routine, starting with a keep-fit jogging would be declared dead after being hit by a satanic and reckless driver, just like that?

To put it most ruefully, a man like Dimgba Igwe should not have suffered the misfortune of death at a time Nigeria required so much from him. Igwe, ever bubbly and full of life, knew he had much to give Nigeria. For that, he must pull himself together while keeping fit every day in order to cope.

He was, indeed, looking forward to another beautiful day when he took to jogging like

into South Africa such amount of money without any diplomatic cover, the second transaction shows tardiness, if as claimed by officials of the Federal Government that the company which was paid to supply the arms, shortly after lost the capacity to deliver. From the reports in the press it appears Nigerian officials who packaged the alleged arms transaction did not do a due diligence over the South African firm before entering into such an important contract, as they claimed.

Before blaming South Africa for adding to our woes, our officials should note that the proximity of the two incidents also raises a legitimate alarm on the part of the South Africans, which entitles them to call for thorough investigation. While how and when their country turned to a haven for shady arms deals should be a source of worry to them, the fact that the Nigerian government in two quick successions has become a subject of investigation over arms transaction should worry our government, with regards to efficiency. What Nigeria is entitled to is to demand the application of the rule of law in the two cases and where applicable, international standards in the investigations. We think it would be unfair for Nigeria to demand that South Africa should ignore their local laws, or exercise them in

Dimgba Igwe, gone too soon many of us used to do. Mid way into the exercise, death came knocking in a most unexpected manner and used the impatient driver to accomplish his mission.

What a manner of death! The life of our dear friend and great colleague was cut short in a jiffy.

That was the most painful aspect of the death of a friend who I respect for his talent and great intellect.

I can recall several memorable encounters I had with Dimgba Igwe. Indeed, we met in many international congresses of world editors and journalists. Each time, we shared

good times and took photographs. In each of the congresses, both Dimgba and Mike Awoyinfa were always at their best, making profound contributions.

Of note was this year's IPI World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa. I was wondering why the duo of Dimgba and Mike (two inseparable twins) always attend World Media congresses without their spouses.

This is because people like me, Mallam Garba Shehu, Kabir Yusuf, Mohammed Haruna and, of course, our BOSS Ismaila Isa, were always with our wives.

Interestingly, this year's congress came with a difference.

I got more astonished to discover that for the first time, the 'twins' came with their better halves.

That happened to be the last congress for Dimgba.

In decoding the mystery in his action, I could not but continue to wonder whether Dimgba had a premonition of his death. Only the Almighty knows better.

I could vividly recall that Dimgba was full of life at the congress. We chatted, joked and spoke about their new entertainment paper. At a

time, I was hungry and craving for local food.

Dimgba came to the rescue, directing me to the Fish Harbour where I later had a good fill. After each of the sessions, Dimgba and Mike, armed with their micro tape recorders, would comb the congress arena to conduct landmark interviews with reputable media executives who came from across the globe.

There is no doubt that we will miss Dimgba. All the same, I cannot help imagine that Mike will miss him

sorely. This is the reason I feel that Mike is the man to be consoled. He was a soul mate to Dimgba, to put it mildly.

Already, our dear friend Dimgba has been getting effusive tributes from across the board. He is being celebrated by the lowly and the mighty.

Dimgba wherever you are, you can see that you are larger in death.

Mike, though it is painful that death has done its worst to separate you and Dimgba, be consoled with outpouring of messages and tributes from across the world, just for your 'twin' brother. These go to show that you have a friend whose name is worth more than gold. My brother, I urge you at this point to just keep the flag flying.

By Folu Olamiti (FNGE) Abuja

Delay in registration of Providence People`s Congress as a political party 2013.

Our fear is reinforced by an assertion, several times of director, that we "Don`t have to participate in 2015 elections." All the recent events are covert pointer that the system is being driven to achieve this.

We are using this medium to call on you to see that justice is

not perverted, and that, we are not denied our right of participation in a fair and democratic contest. Above all, as citizens of this country that affirm the sanctity of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is fair and just that since we have fulfilled all the relevant sections,

S

Unwanted babies of bad governance

OME years ago, there was global economic recession when the biggest economies of the world suffered some set-backs. Expectedly, some serious countries who care much for their citizens and who are well known for moral and financial discipline like Britain, USA, Germany, Japan and China promptly introduced measures which stabilised their

economies. In Nigeria, measures to stop official stealing and corruption with a view to achieve a buoyant economy for the wellbeing of Nigerians were too weak and ineffective.

Consequently, what we have here and there, in Nigeria, was bad governance which gave birth to ‘unwanted babies’.

particularly section 223 1 (b) and 2 (b as well as section 4 (a) and (b) 1 and 2 of Guidelines and Regulation 2013 to demand and hereby demand that our certificate be issued without further delay.

In furtherance of this, we want to be issued with the nomination forms because the

For instance, in the North East, Boko Haram insurgency was born; in the South and East kidnapping of wealthy and elderly citizens was born; in the South West area boys’ menace and violent armed robberies became rampant while in the far north thousands of Almajiris, old and young, roam

public holidays that fall in to the period of collection as contained in your time table has reduced the window of operation. Please be aware that festive period has made the whole of next week very unproductive and this is the only full week allotted for this collection exercise

the streets.

Furthermore, the general fear of insecurity by Nigerians rose to a level never witnessed in Nigeria’s history due to this political virus. Consequently, after many years of continuous deceit and bad governance, the down trodden Nigerians have since realised that the billions of

We look forward to your positive response in the service of our dear country.

Sincerely yours, - B. Adetona (National Chairman, PPC) - S. Hamzat (National Secretary, PPC) naira appropriated yearly for the development of their economy, improvement of security and to up-grade welfare services for them were frequently mismanaged, stolen and cleverly laundered into foreign accounts.

- Mr. Falana Williams Adewole C/O Araromi Oke-Odo Market, Lagos.

SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 500 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS: sundaynation@yahoo.com

16

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

COMMENT

Ekiti: Dr Kayode Fayemi bows out in a blaze of glory Here is one man, together with his wife, our dear outgoing First Lady, who, in their youth, have prepared themselves for whatever challenges life may bring: cultured and well educated.

N

O matter what ruckus or melodrama currently engulfs Ekiti State, Dr John Kayode Fayemi, the Omoluabi-outgoing governor of the state for the past four years, leaves behind him nuggets, indeed, absolutely unprecedented firsts in the annals of governance, not only in the state but in the entire country. The gentleman politician will look back to these four years as a period he gave of his best to his people; never for once allowing himself to be carried away by the appurtenances of transient power.

Not for once did he ensconce himself in the giddiness that office can so very easily engender in lesser individuals nor did he ever forget that there was, one day, going to be the day after. He was neither garrulous nor off putting.

Dr Fayemi was, forever, his composed and comported self.

Nobody who knows him would have been surprised. Scion of a decent Christian parentage, intellectually sound and supremely confident, humble yet so self-effacing you could not have expected anything less.

Effective August, 1983, I had completely abandoned any involvement in politics consequent upon the crisis of that year in Ondo State, a part of which Ekiti was. I had to relocate to Lagos as was comprehensively captured by the Guardian edition of Tuesday 20, 1983 under the caption: POLITICIAN ON THE RUN SENDS PEACE MESSAGE

HOME -no thanks to the murderous post- election escapades of the NPN, the precursors of today's PDP. But by 2009, two whole years after his mandate had been stolen and after closely observing his seriousness and total commitment to retrieving same as well as my observing how very inpudently President Obasanjo had turned Ekiti into a plaything, I decided to throw my hat into the fray on the side of Ekiti and Dr Fayemi. Since then, there has been no looking back and today, I am as proud as could possibly be seeing what development Ekiti has experienced under his leadership.

Until the Ekiti Election Tribunal currently sitting validates the PDP victory in the June 21 governorship election, that is if it does, I shall remain unpersuaded that the PDP truly and transparently won that election. I say this from the heart in the total belief that we Ekitis could never have overlooked all the governor did in those four years, in every segment of the Ekiti society sans his having to relocate the Ekiti treasury to the Erekesan Market in the state capital for every Ekiti citizen to take his or her pick. Indeed, it continues to diminish each and every one of us Ekiti to be told by Nigerians across the board that we were driven by 2kg bags of rice to make up our minds on such a momentous occasion.

If, and when the tribunal does confirm the PDP victory, I shall on

this very page advise the incoming governor Ayo Fayose, who is my aburo, to take to heart the fact that four, even eight years, is not eternity and that, as it is now for Dr Fayemi, there is going to come for him the day after. It is therefore important that like Fayemi, the development of Ekiti, in peace and harmony, should concentrate his mind. Fortunately, he severally told Ekiti people on his campaign tours that he is a changed man. He must know that the people will be extremely eager to see him demonstrate this. Of course, he knows me well enough not to be unduly silent if we see that change only in breach. Governor-elect Ayo Fayose knows what role I played, leveraging on our extant relationship, in his working with Dr Fayemi during the rerun election; a role significant enough to make him call me as soon as he got out of a tiff with former governor, Otunba Niyi Adebayo in governor Fayemi's office reminding me of what fears he had expressed earlier on during the discussions. I shall remain resolute in calling attention to what I know will redound to the benefit of our people far beyond the sounding bites of politics. This is even more critical given that PDP is not known to run people-oriented governments either at state or federal level. For them, it is come and eat. I am not a politician but only a citizen journalist and Governor Ayo Fayose must be ready and prepared to hear from me whenever necessary through this very page.

I digress, as this is about the sterling performance of an outgoing governor, one who has demonstrated

the qualities that have earned him the name Omoluabi governor, like Otunba Niyi Adebayo before him.

Here is a man whose word is his bond; the very reason he was given the epithet, 'O WI BE E SE BE E' meaning he does that which he promises. Nor can anybody forget in a hurry Dr Fayemi's empathy for the underprivileged. It was this that resulted in his unprecedented - in Nigeria - his welfare package for the elderly from which not less than 20, 000 elderly Ekiti citizens received a N5000.00K monthly stipend. He did not stop there as his spouse, our highly regarded First Lady, among other welfare packages for the underprivileged, not only fed hundreds of citizens but also distributed raw rations which the beneficiaries took back to their respective homes.

There will be no better way of concluding this article than to quote a total outsider, this time THIS DAY'S Olawale Olaleye who, unlike me, cannot be accused of undue partisanship writing about Dr Fayemi. In the paper's edition of Friday, 10 October, he wrote: 'As he prepares to leave office sometime next week, outgoing Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has shown leadership even with his approach to disengagement. He is by every means in a class of his own. ?His background as much as his upbringing, without much ado, are two major factors contributory to the make-up of this adult enigma. Break him down in whichever way, the outgoing Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, painfully took the

fall but stood even taller. He crashed out, tumbled but refused to crumble. ?He was not even down let alone out.

He is still standing tall as he plans to quit with dignity, class and respect.

"From idea conception, articulation, implementation, and its constructive follow-up, he's proven to be an astute administrator and a unique breed politician. ?He seems to be leaving behind shoes bigger than anyone of a lower-caste. He is bequeathing a vision, comprehensible only to anyone of his ilk.

"Perhaps, for those who had their doubts about the quality of this intelligentsia, his magnanimity in defeat immediately after the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State, sums it up. Much as he may have expressed reservations about some of the processes that led to the election, he knew he had a responsibility to congratulate the winner, Mr. Ayodele Fayose. In any case, for every contest, there would always be a winner and a loser. He admitted to having lost the election, but not without a genuine and sincere fight. He's since moved on and this can be located in many respects…'

As he bows out gracefully, I haven't the slightest doubt Dr Fayemi is headed for higher ground. Here is one man, together with his wife, our dear outgoing First Lady, who, in their youth, have prepared themselves for whatever challenges life may bring: cultured and well educated, this is one couple for whom contentment is a creed. A perfect match, Nigerians and the world at large will have more reasons to celebrate this duo.

As for me and them, we are inseparable.

I wish them God's abundant blessings.

Not yet 'Happy Birthday' to Nigeria!

For how long can we as parents bear a child's perpetual misconduct without exasperatingly crying out, 'when will you learn?’

I

RECEIVED the following missives, among other responses, on the last but one piece done on this column. As usual, I have done some editing to make them readable without interfering with the senses contained in them.

Nigerian soldiers that are not enough to deploy to Sambisa are now being used as politicians' guards, mostly PDPs'. Come to Port Harcourt, you will see them in their tens/twenties in the houses of Senator George Sekibo, Evans Bipi and the rest of them. They are there idle just to intimidate opposition and ordinary civilians in the area… they have properties even where they are not sleeping. Instead of having general security for all the citizenry we are having selective security for a few that are living on our collective wealth. Living opulent lifestyle, giving orders to soldiers like houseboys… That is why the soldiers are also angry with what the politicians under this administration are gaining without doing the right thing. Thomas, Port Harcourt.

2347034545566. …I am in total support of your postscript… In Ibibio dialect, (it) says, "Owo oto odiok" meaning "someone must have done something provoking to stir another person's anger". I agree with you, the said sentenced soldiers must have been ill treated before they reacted that way. The army must be merciful.

Thanks… Keep up the fight.

2348172101241.

…I love reading your pieces, not because of the truth they contain but because your writings are readable.

If your writings put a few things aside and devote their flows towards reality instead of assumptions and perceptions, you will be the fine writer that you are. Please ma, consider just this one theory: do you change the goalpost in the middle of the game? The other issue is, why was the military able to effectively rout the delta insurgents swiftly and yet could not the boko haram despite the fact that both operated guerilla warfare tactics with the same military arsenal? Some things just don't add up here. Kedi. 2348027795840.

Your piece of work in 'The Nation' is interesting. Come to think of it, the legislature is to be blamed for not reviewing the Military act to conform with the present dispensation of Democratic settings…

Danladi, Enugu.

2348078092205 Honestly, it is great to have friends like you. Here you are, busy chewing the curd but proving in the end you have been listening to me all the while, and here I am thinking I have been mumbling to myself like a cow on holidays. However, I want to disagree with all those who have agreed with me; kindly go and have your own ideas. I also want to inform the gentleman who is a little miffed with my writing style: I am very proud of my writing sins; they make me stand out from the rest of you

saints. Now, where will I be without my assumptions and presumptions and perceptions and all the umptions, eh, where?

Seriously though, we are clearly living in dangerous times, are we not? Just look at us all, begging the army to have mercy on the condemned soldiers because we don't understand a thing, and look at the Chief of Defence Staff proclaiming for all to hear that next time, trials and execution of erring soldiers will take place in the bush!

Now, that's scary! In other words, the man was complaining about the overly much civilian opposition to the death sentence the military tribunal passed on the twelve erring soldiers. Now, what did he expect?

Here are 'bloody civilians' who normally squirm at the sight of blood (irony, eh?), being forced to watch as some unrepentant, disgruntled group persists in turning Nigerian streets to rivers of innocent blood.

Then we hear the army wants to execute soldiers for misconduct! And there is his strong, holy self expecting us to be quiet about it and not to panic as if he were saying, hey people, don't worry; we just want to shoot a few soldiers dead for being such cowards in the face of boko haram attacks, that's all. I ask you!

We maintain on this column (and you are permitted to agree with me today), that the army opened this door of unprofessional conduct.

There is a saying that you teach best when you live your teaching. The army's code of existence is vastly different from that of the civilians'.

That is why soldiers (paid from public funds) should not be used for political games; that includes being made to

guard politicians (who live on public funds) or other rich people. Sir, that amounts to double jeopardy for the public.

In Nigeria, it is common to believe that leadership does not involve sacrifices. As a matter of fact, the common perception is that leadership involves enjoyment. This is what makes everyone believe that whatever subvention is sent to his/ her office can only be called a subvention after his/her own personal needs have been deducted from it. Unfortunately, everyone's psyche has come to be tuned towards that, including both the military and civilian units. Those soldiers would not have been in the logjam they are in now if people had duly carried out their responsibilities at their duty posts.

This is why I believe that everyone who greeted this country happy 54th birthday has merely wasted his or her breath. For how long can we as parents or adults bear a child's perpetual misconduct without exasperatingly crying out, 'when will you learn?' Sadly, we said it before, and others have also said it, Nigeria has not learnt anything at fifty-four; and it seems to have also forgotten very little of its ancestors' errors. Nay, it has perfected them, because everything that can be wrong is wrong in this country.

Very well, I say, in order to qualify for my own greeting, I believe there are three basic lessons this country needs to learn. First and foremost, it must learn that the world is really too small for bigotry.

Everyone in Nigeria, born and unborn, is entitled to live a happy life in this country. The duty of her

leaders is therefore not just to make themselves, their race, tribe, or religion comfortable but to make all comfortable. In many states now, I hear that governors distribute infrastructures to only their favoured tribes, races or religions. So, electricity goes only to the villages they like; roads are tarred only if the beneficiaries are of their tribe or religion… oh please!

It also needs to learn that the comfort of the least person is the safety of all. Believe me, anyone who targets only his/her group to receive the services coming from his position has no idea what need is. The person who may one day meet his/her need in an emergency may actually be his/her perceived 'enemy'. Just ask those at the war front. I recall telling you about the soldier who left off shooting at the enemy for one brief moment just to free a groaning enemy soldier trapped on a barbed wire. Pain does not know politics or religion.

Lastly, we need to realize that we have no country until we learn that every position is a link in the chain of life and that the strength of the country lies in the strength of that office. Our collective failure has been the refusal to acknowledge this fact.

Failing to teach a student well is preparing his failure as a manager.

He will serve customers badly, and those will also serve others badly in their own places of work… the chain is endless. A child once greeted a man heartily until he learnt the man was a doctor. Remembering all the injections he endured before, he said he was withdrawing his hand and his greeting. My birthday greetings stay with me until this country learns.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

COMMENT

17

(86)

The religion and science, faith and reason controversy - again (2) A

T the end of last week's column I promised that I would start this conclusion to the series with an account of how and why even though historically religion had never been an "enemy" of science in our country, in the last few decades, a particular form of contemporary Christianity that has captured the minds of large segments of our national intelligentsia (including and especially our men and women of science) has become the "enemy" of science in our country, with very dire, very disturbing intellectual consequences for Nigeria's present and future. In what follows, I give three "case histories" in support of that promise. Thus, let us go to the first case.

The Nigerian Academy of Sciences (NAS) is the highest nongovernmental self-organization of scientists in our country. To become a Fellow of the organization with the honorific title of Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Sciences (FNAS), you have to achieve great respect or even fame as a scientist among fellow scientists in the country and perhaps also in the world since NAS is an affiliate member of the International Council for Science (ICS), the highest international organization of science and scientists in the world. For these reasons, to be the President of NAS is to be a man or woman of science who has great renown as a scientist. Well then, imagine this following true and factual account that took place about ten years ago.

The President of NAS who roughly at the same time also happened to be the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos brought the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM), Dr. Olukoya, to the campus of Unilag to perform an exorcism of the spirits and demons deemed to be behind the "cultism" and other acts and practices of evil mayhem and criminality among the students of the institution. This NAS President (who incidentally is a distant relative of mine) was quoted in newspapers as asserting that the exorcizing visit of the MFM to the Unilag campus was the best day of his life in the University including his days as an undergraduate; his years as a lecturer, senior lecturer and professor; and the long road to becoming Vice Chancellor from HOD to Dean of Faculty to Chief Executive of the University. We might note in passing here that Dr. Olukoya, the General Overseer of the MFM is himself a scientist with a PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. During his ritual of exorcism, he gave the names of the seven or eight demons that he expelled from the Unilag campus. This all seemed to have come from Ben Johnson's The Alchemist, written and performed in London in the early 17th century. As far as I know, no Fellow of the NAS, and no scientist at the University of Lagos ever expressed any opposition, any

•Graph of mathematical equations

disbelief that in Nigeria of the 21st century, an eminent man of science could not openly and triumphantly practice exorcism in one of the leading universities in our country but actually go on to extol the event as the very pinnacle of his experience in the University of Lagos. This is case No 1.

Case No 2 also involved exorcism, but of a very different kind.

This took place at the University of Ife. After the tenure of Professor Wande Abimbola as the Vice Chancellor of the University, the VC who succeeded him was afraid to move into the official VC's Lodge until the place was "spiritually cleansed" by a long round of vigils and prayers by a select group of campus "born again Christians" many of whom were very senior professors in the arts and sciences.

As an agricultural and environmental economist, the VC in question was a scientist somewhere in the middle of the "soft" and "hard" sciences. It is important to explain why this VC was afraid of moving into the Lodge formerly occupied

by Professor Abimbola and his family. As many people reading this who are familiar with Professor Abimbola's scholarly work and career know, he is regarded as the world's foremost specialist on the Ifa corpus and one of the most revered High Priests of the Orisa religion. This was why his successor was in great dread about moving into the VC's Lodge; he and his coreligionists feared that Abimbola had left behind all the spirits and avatars of his own religion. And so thorough, so total was the "spiritual cleansing" that they performed that priceless traditional works of art

that graced the VC Lodge were thrown away, including the magnificent carved doors of the Lodge.

And once the "cleansing" had been done, the new VC and his family declared victory IJN and began to hold regular vigils and prayer sessions in the VC's Lodge. That is case No 2.

Case No 3 has a personal and rather sad resonance for me. It concerns a Professor Emeritus of Physics who, during the years of his active life as an academic, was one of the brightest scientists of his generation and was easily one of the most highly respected physicists in our country and in Africa. As a matter of fact, he was a one-time President of the Nigerian Association of Physicists. After retirement, he became a pastor and founded his own ministry. There is nothing wrong, nothing inherently against science in that; famously, Isaac Newton, the father of modern physics, was a pastor in the Unitarian Church. And as I observed in last week's column, there are dozens of Nobel Prize Laureates in the sciences who are devout Christians or Judaists.

What is saddening in this particular case is that upon becoming a "born again" pastor, our former renowned physicist abandoned physics and the scientific ethos.

This came out in a series of very bitter public exchanges between him and Wole Soyinka over the former physicist's allegation that the Pyrates Confraternity (PC) had been a cult, the work of Satan and his hosts when he and WS and a few other undergraduates founded the organization in the early 1950s. Much later, when I

was an undergraduate at Ibadan, I was myself a "pyrate", a member of the PC. This is why this case has a personal and very sad connotation for me. To believe that the PC in the time of its original founders was a "satanic cult" is bad enough; but to believe that the Pyrates Confraternity, even when it had joined other violently criminal and extortionate gangs on our university campuses was the work of Satan in a world caught in an eternal struggle between God and Satan is not modern Christianity but a throwback to the Christianity of the European Middle Ages. This is the form of Christianity that now has a commanding grip on the minds and the brains of hundreds and thousands of our national intelligentsia and is conducting an undeclared war on science in our country and our continent.

In this series, I have repeatedly stated that religion and science are not incompatible, not mutually antithetical. I now wish to make the clarification here that by this I mean religious expressions that are not opposed to the rational processes of the human mind and brain, that in fact see the hand of God in these processes. All the Nobel Laureates in the sciences that also believe in God are, without exception, of this kind of religionists. The first and second generations of scientists in our country were also of this category of men and women of rationalistic and rigorous scientific endeavor who were also religionists. To back this up, I wish to state here very clearly that all the three "case histories" that I have profiled in this

piece would have been unthinkable in my years as a high school student and a university undergraduate. A VC who dared to bring an exorcist to a university campus would have been considered a figure of derision. In my days as an undergraduate, we would have written and performed satirical plays about a VC who was terrified to move into the VC's Lodge because he thought it was occupied by "spirits" left there by the last occupant. In those days, things like that happened in the dark, in secrecy; their perpetrators were too afraid of the scorn they would have attracted if they acted on their fears and anxieties in the open. These days, they not only operate in the open, they do so from the hallowed podiums of Vice Chancellorships and Presidencies of the Nigerian Academy of Science. When the most eminent men and women of science in a country are self-declared and militant religious medievalists of this kind, science in the given society undergoes a retrogression that may perhaps take generations to recover from. We are in deep, deep trouble in this matter, compatriots.

In conclusion, let me say that I have some errors and confusions to correct from last week's column.

Thanks to some readers who sent me emails, I can report now that it was Dr. S.O. Onabamiro who wrote the monograph, Why Our Children Die, not Dr. S.O. Awokoya as I stated in last week's essay. I probably got confused by the fact that Awokoya and Onabamiro were both, at different times, Minister of Education in the old Western Region and they both fell out of favour with their Party Leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Also, the error was mine, not Chinua Achebe's. Moreover, the book in which Achebe cited Onabamiro is not The Trouble with Nigeria but the book of essays titled Hopes and Impediments. To my very good friend Professor Olabode Lucas who wrote to say that I did not give any credit to many Nigerian scientists who, even though they did not win Nobel prizes, achieved considerable acclaim as scientists worldwide, I completely concur. My aim in this series has not been to disrespect science and scientists in our country and if one or two generalizations that I have made have given that impression, I wish to state that I take them back. Finally, one comrade wrote to tell me that the great problem that science and scientists face in our country today is underfunding and lack of the basic infrastructures that make the scientific enterprise possible in the first place. I accept this thesis but I think we must correlate it to the pervasiveness of religious medievalism among our scientists.

In a completely separate piece, I shall take up this issue in next week's column.

Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

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O be or not to be? That is the essential question that the Nigerian Civil Service (NCS) must necessarily answer if it must indeed earn the epithet of a functional democratic state that is committed to an efficient and effective service delivery to its citizens. In the first part, we saw how that since its inauguration, the evolution of the NCS constitutes the sum total of outstanding starts; evolving, immature and weak structures; ambivalent decisions; bold steps; compromised reforms and fortuitous breakthroughs. This evolution simply implies that the organisational growth of the NCS has failed to reach a point of maturity from which it could commence a reformulation of its original objectives. Thus, most of the reform efforts since its inauguration have been mere attempts at damage control.

Hence, when Prof. Adamolekun categorised Nigeria as a hesitant reformer, it is not difficult to see the analogy with Shakespeare's Hamlet.

It is often said that when a person or an institution is through changing, then it is through.

It doesn't really appear that the NCS is through changing despite its compromised institutional growth trajectory. When the wave of democratisation began in the early 90s, Nigeria had to decide whether it still wanted to be a hesitant reformer or make the urgent push for advancement in reform management. From 1985 to date, we have had five specific reform attempts aimed at refurbishing the professional status of the Nigerian civil servant-the 1985/1988 Phillips Commission, the Ayida Reform of 1995, the Obasanjo Renewal Programme, Yar'Adua Civil Service Reform Programme and the present Jonathan Transformation Agenda. Put together, all these reforms had a very simple objective: Reconstructing the persona of the Nigerian civil servant through professionalising the NCS and its HRM architecture. Some of the essential steps taken in this direction include: (a) To reprofessionalise as a means of creating a new generation of officers and technocrats with sufficient skills, knowledge and motivation for institutional innovation; (b) the conduct of vigorous and systematic evaluation and reporting of professional performance to make policymakers accountable for resources used and for results; (c) modernising core operations and systems of the NCS using ICT; (d) creation of a number of more specialised cadres; (e) putting in place a system of capacity utilisation wherein core skills are better matched with jobs; (f) injection of high skills and competencies available in other

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

COMMENT

INCE the journey of democratization began in 1998, Nigerians have witnessed the formation of several political parties. Some of these political parties have been described as bedroom political parties said to be owned by few friends and even husband and wife for the purpose of seeking greener pastures.

Some of these so called parties use it for all kinds of bargaining chips. This is what is called politics of the stomach as evident in the recent Ekiti gubernatorial election which is being referred to as stomach infrastructure. Others are formed for the purpose of articulating regional interest.

Like the Biblical story of the sower who went out to sow where most of the seeds that fell on the rocky ground naturally withered, some that fell among the thorns, were choked and never saw the light of growth, those that fell on the good soil were nurtured by the photosynthesis to fruition and people appreciate the fruit for consumption.

That is that, and that has been the story of party formation in Nigeria where a good number of them barely survived and others are like a flash in the pan. This is why critics of contemporary politics in Nigeria have often accused political parties and its members of being bereft of any ideology. In spite of the explanations offered by some political parties like the APC who are avowed progressives with all the tilt of the progressive mould, the accusations of lack of ideology have continued to rent the air and remain unabated.

However, the birth of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in 1998, formed by thirty four wise men known as the G34, drawn from the North-South political configuration of the country marked a turning point in the democratic evolution of Nigeria.

As the dominant political party, it has often pride itself as the largest political party in Africa.

This singular self adulation by the party is not just for anything but in tandem with its uncommon ability at managing the centrifugal forces that makeup the party, even in the face of its seeming overwhelming challenges is most interesting.

And interestingly, this writer burst into laughter when he overheard somebody describing PDP as a party that cuddles political prodigals which translates to the same issue of lack of culture of discipline and the dearth of ideology. "This writer simply interrupted him and retorted, "Gentleman, I beg to disagree, the PDP is ideologically rooted and wearing the garment of the Republicans, that of APC is the

Imperative of professionalising Nigerian Civil Service (2)

By Tunji Olaopa

sectors of the economy into the public service, using a range of incentives; and (g) strengthening policy and research synergies through enhanced collaborative projects, including public-private partnerships.

Yet, reconstructing the modus operandi of the NCS requires more than just token attention to the imperative of reform. It requires, essentially, a paradigm shift. The simple reason is that we can never hope to continue at this hesitant rate and hope to achieve a world class status with the same indecisive level of administrative functionality. Transforming into a 'new public service' involves answering two simple but basic questions: How do we want to be seen as an administrative institution? What must we do to achieve this new perception? The National Strategy for Public Service Reform (NSPSR) provides a straightforward answer to the first question: The Nigerian Civil Service ought to be perceived and to function as 'A worldclass public service delivering government policies and programmes with professionalism, excellence and passion.' And its mission statement is also simple: To efficiently and effectively implement the policies and programmes of government, operating collaboratively and transparently with other stakeholders to ensure quality delivery of public services.

The answer to the second question follows automatically: To achieve this large vision of a world class and democratic public service, we need to urgently get the basics of reform execution and management right. Getting the basics right implies the need to build the fundamental strengths of our public service institution before deploying best practices to ignite the changes we desire. Consequently, reform must create the government context for agency-level systemic changes to take root. In a 2008 essay titled 'The Public Service of 2025,' Jocelyne Bourgon outlines five fundamental

trends around which the vision of the NSPSR can coalesce if its mission statement is to become a reality for Nigerians. These paradigmatic trends include: Trend One-Hybridisation of Public Human Resource Models. This would involve a civil service system exploring the possibility of a mixed regime that combined the career-based and position-based models of recruitment into the civil service. Trend Two-A Reduction of Protection, Immunity and Privilege.

In this regard, there has been a serious encroachment on the traditional permanent tenure of the civil servants in favour of flexible and fixed-term contract appointments. Trend Three-Emphasis on Individual Performance.

Such a future civil service would also be concerned with how its HRM framework can been capacitated enough with pay, compensation and incentives to build individual and unit performance that would result in organisational progress. Trend FourDecentralisation of HRM Policies. This involves achieving flexibility and freedom in HRM policy implementation through devolving powers to implement to MDAs. Such a decentralisation would be done within several frameworks that could have no central agency, a single agency or multiple agencies facilitating the implementation. Trend Five-Cultivation of a Senior Civil Servant System. This would be an attempt to separate a top echelon of intelligent and competent administrative officers that would focus the leadership of the civil service and direct its policy formulation and implementation capacity.

If the NSPSR provides the vision and the mission statement, and Bourgon gives us a framework within which the vision and mission can be calibrated into a dynamic future-defining new public service anchored on a functional HRM architecture, then McGregor identifies a further underlining component that motivates the paradigm shift. This involves challenging existing bureaucratic behaviour. Since we are basically concerned with the persona of the

Nigerian civil servant, it becomes inevitable that we transit from an administrative behavioural framework that Douglas McGregor calls Theory X to another he calls Theory Y. Theory X, for McGregor, derives from a very strict administrative regimen and gloomy picture of human nature at three levels: first, management involves the deployment of people, material and money as means towards the achievement of particular economic objectives; second, that organisational objectives require the control and motivation of people; and, third, that without a strict organisational regimen, humans are usually unproductive and resistant to organisational needs. On the other hand, Theory Y has at its base a picture of a transformational leadership and a philosophical insight which insists that that humans are motivated by the need to satisfy the higher-order needs like social relationship, the search for esteem and dignity as well as the need to exercise their creative genius especially with regards to organisational performance. The responsibility of a Theory Y leader is therefore to provide the atmosphere that unleashes these potentials of his already motivated employees.

The paradigm shift in HRM framework therefore demands an ingenious mix of components of Theory X and Theory Y to achieve a dynamic framework for creating a new generation of neo-Weberian professionals sufficiently capacitated and incentivised to function differently and outside of all existing bureaucratic pathologies afflicting the Nigerian civil service.

These new professionals will be dedicated to the demands of a new productivity paradigm undergirding the performance-oriented dynamics of the NCS. And they will be backstopped by the evolution of management competencies, values and ethics necessary for the successful management of the reform processes in the public services. This takes issue with the HRM policy and framework of the NCS. A dynamics HR framework isn't just personnel management or even HRM. It involves Continued on Page 68

Right of first refusal and 2015 Bayelsa guber election

By George Fente

Nigerian version of the democrats, other political parties are pretenders".

That was the brief argument that ensued.

Now back to the real business. About a fortnight ago, the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN, a political Non-Governmental Organization that has been in the forefront of persuading President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to accept the clarion call across the country to seek re-election recorded its first gain, when the Governor Godswill Akpabio led ruling PDP Governors Forum unanimously endorsed President Jonathan for second term and made the most generous offer of what it referred to as "The Right of First Refusal" to fly the flag of the party in the 2015 presidential election.

Governor Akpabio stated that the offer would deepen the party internal democracy, stressing that, "The adoption is democracy in action". In U.S that we are copying the incumbent president does not go through primaries. We are not saying that the president will not face the general election. So the idea of him spending presidential time instead of facing insurgency, food insufficiency and other things that may affect the country and began to campaign for the party ticket, when he is already the incumbent president is what we want to avoid. I think this is very fantastic model of internal democracy".

Shortly after the adoption by the PDP Governors Forum, it was followed by the endorsement of National Executive Committee, the highest decision making organ of the Peoples Democratic Party, at its meeting with President Jonathan in attendance comprising the governors and all the leaders of the party from the local government councils to the presidency.

A former National Chairman of the party, Colonel Ahmadu Ali (Retd.) moved the motion for the justification for the right of first refusal, stating that, "This is in keeping with the precedent in other countries where democracy is being practiced especially in the U.S".

Speaking after his endorsement by the NEC of the PDP President Jonathan re-echoed the same conviction that, "When the party leaders

endorsed me, by that endorsement I have the right of first refusal. That is what is done in advance democracies". It shows clearly that the PDP is advancing.

President Jonathan further gave an insight into the party's internal democracy that; "There are no dictators in the PDP. There is no one that is so powerful to determine who becomes a Councilor, Local Government Chairman, State House of Assembly, House of Representatives Member, Senator, Governor and even Presidential in the PDP. The decision is by the people for the people and that is why the PDP will continue to do new things and give right leadership".

One could recall vividly, in 2013 the Chairman Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Aninih flew the kite when he called on the party to offer President Jonathan the much vaunted "Right of first refusal" at the South-South leaders summit. Many people likened Chief Aninih's call to that of the Biblical John the Baptist, the forerunner who announced the coming of Jesus Christ whose shoe he said it will be difficult for him to untie. Chief Tony Aninih who wears the aura of a political deity, an Ishan born High Chief regarded as Mr. Fix provided the road map for the endorsement of President Jonathan to enjoy for the first time the right of first refusal imported from the U.S. Since the adoption of this right of first refusal by the PDP, it has as usual attracted criticisms from cross sections of Nigerians particularly the main opposition political party, APC. The criticism is hinged on the moral ground that it is a bad precedent set by the ruling party, adding that, there is nothing democratic about it. Others hold the view that it has eroded the values of competition and the right of participation which are the hallmarks of liberal democracy. Their argument may hold water when viewed through the universal prism of democracy.

However, looking at the other side of the coin with a broad spectrum, particularly given our peculiar experience as a transitional democracy when placed within the context of the judgment of an emerging process, the option is quite irresistible. Whichever way the pendulum of the argument swings, the fact

remains that, the PDP has imported one of the finest political culture to garnish the fastest growing democracy in the world for the overall stability of the nation's polity.

The right of first refusal accorded to Mr. President will reduce to the barest minimum the unhealthy competition and rivalry that often tear the party to shreds during and after election. It will also save the party a whole lot of resources that would have been wasted at the party primary which could now be ploughed to tackle critical infrastructure needs of the citizens of the country.

The right of first refusal will promote cohesion and harmony among party faithfuls especially those who revel in budding divisive tendencies. This has laid a formidable foundation of breaking the jinx of nomination for re-election of a sitting executive.

In Bayelsa State, the road to Damascus is already cleared; going by this precedent and definitely the inexplicable re-election jinx has been broken by this novel political culture. Following the announcement of conceding the right of first refusal to Mr. President, there was a wild jubilation in virtually all the headquarters of the eight local government areas in the state including the state capital Yenagoa.

The spontaneous jubilation came on the heels of subterranean moves by some Abuja based political hawks reportedly plotting to undermine the government of Hon. Seriake Dickson. The people of the state believe that it was a double celebration, because on one hand, PDP has officially unveiled its candidate and cleared the coast for a hitch-free presidential and gubernatorial primary without any rancour; on the other hand it is an affirmation of what is good for the goose must be good for the gander.

There is no doubt; one of the calculi of the right of refusal is the verifiable achievements of the sitting governor. A peep into the performance sheet of governor Dickson shows that even his ardent critics will lavishly concede to the fact that he deserves the right of first refusal.

In the area of road construction, the state capital, Yenagoa and its environs are now wearing the true look of a cosmopolitan state capital as Continued on Page 68

Murky world of arms dealers P. 22

Save us from stinking cemetery P. 25 THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

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20 SUNDAY LIFE

•Taksim street •Eyinade and Mbimi en route Uhuru Peak

Many people seek to climb Mount Kilimanjaro annually. For Adedotun Eyinade and his crew, aside individual quests, they wanted to bring attention of the world to Down Syndrome and also use the adventure to raise funds for the patients. He relates the experience to Joe Agbro Jr.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

SUNDAY LIFE 21

•Umar Farouk Umar, Thierry Mbimi&AdedotunEyinade

•Eyinade at Uhuru Peak

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SUNDAY LIFE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

Murky world of arms dealers •Continued from Page 39

‘South African authorities shouldn't have been kept in dark’ •Continued from Page 39

SUNDAY LIFE 25

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

A community’s SOS: Save us from stinking cemetery The public cemetery located in Ayobo, a Lagos suburb, has become a problem to the community in the past 14 years. The community is now pleading to the Lagos State government to save them from imminent epidemic. Taiwo Abiodun reports.

•Tea Cup and sticks used to mark a grave

PHOTOS: TAIWO ABIODUN

•Ayobo CDA members

•Grave diggers at work

•Continued on page 26

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

26 SUNDAY LIFE

Quest for potable and affordable water

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Dr. Joe Odumakin, Women Arise, Akinbode Oluwafemi of ERA/FoEN and Mr. Francis Abayomi, Peace and Development Project at the event.

By Blessing Ochiemen and Olamide Olawande

Community cries ‘Save us from epidemic’ •Continued from page 25

•Collapsed grave

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New WOMAN

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

PILLOWTALK YETUNDE OLADEINDE molaralife@yahoo.com

Once the glue turns watery

S-U-R-U-L-E-R-E (Patience is profitable) II

Quote of the week Patience is the key which solves all problems. - Sudanese proverb

For our sisters in captivity

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HARIOTS of heaven, arise, shake the heavens, the earth, the seas and the dry land of Sambisa, release our sisters and disgrace the enemies of Nigeria. Amen.

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FINAL WORD

•To be continued.

HASTITY does not belong to the past. It saves you a lot of trouble, preserves your beautiful destiny and stands you out from the crowd.

You are better off not engaging in pre-marital sex. Stay chaste!

Miss Temilolu O.Okeowo is the founder of Girls Club of Nigeria, an NGO for girls of secondary school age aimed at influencing a positive change. She published her debut-book for girls - THE BEAUTY OF LIFE - as an undergraduate and has other books and publications. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2003 and is a Certified Forensics Examiner.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

ENTERTAINMENT

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Why I don’t expose my body, says Oma Nnadi

Continued from Page 53

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

Mr 2Kay features Patoranking on Bad Girl Special

Up-and-coming actress, Linda John, obtained a degree in English Language from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). In this interview with DUPE AYINLA-OLASUNKANMI, she talks about her movie, Mama G Goes Mad, and other issues.

Excerpts:

Most

celebrities can’t manage stardom – NOLLYWOOD ACTRESS LINDA JOHN

•Mr 2Kay

I’ve not ruled out music, says Genevieve Nnaji

•Linda John

•Genevieve

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ETCETERA

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

POLITICKLE

Samba memoirs Chapter Six: Adeus

CHEEK BY JOWL

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

AN EARLY riser, I usually wake to the humming of motorised contraptions washing streets soiled by revellers the previous day. I defy the creaking wood to walk down to the computer at the lobby to duly type and send my travelogue pieces for publication back home before tackling breakfast and either exploring some new part of town alone or with friends.

One after the other, I tick off items on my tourism wish list. More than once, I watch enthusiasts of Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art with African roots, perform in Pelourinho or the Mercado Modelo. I also witness a Candomblé (Afro-Brazilian religion) worship session for the deity, Xango (Sango) at Casa Blanca, one of the three major terreiros, or houses of worship, in Salvador. For all its replication of traditional Yoruba traditional religion practices, it is a moving experience characterised by drumming, chanting and trances.

Beside the excitement generated by dances, percussions and marching bands, match days involving Brazil and Bahia’s celebra•With Brazilian friends in Pelourinho tion of the Dois de Julho (July 2nd) celebration of independence from Portuguese colonialists enthrall. A trip into town on the latter occasion reveals the people’s contentment with life. On street corners and at joints families, singles and couples consume barbecue and cervaja, and essentially toast the good life.

Now I see, I say to friends, why the Brazilian footballer sometimes absconds from professional club duty in Europe to visit ‘family’ back home. I see why many have weight problems. Brazilians just love their food and wine. As I watch the Bahiana, I find it hard to fault a people conceivably the happiest of happy Brazil.

Even now, I see the smiling faces of acquaintances and their genial and consistent inquiry as to my wellbeing. I see them now, striking in hair texture and shades of skin that vary from creamy to chocolate brown. I see them: Lorina, Julie, Lais, Patricia, Vanessa and Samagarey. I see Julian, Ednelson, Sidclei, Dorival and Denilson.

I see the resident Nigerians, each with a unique tale and side story to his projection onto South American soil. I see Abe whose flippant attempt to fix female company, ‘all the better to improve your Portuguese’, falls flat. I see Rilwan and Malek dancing to Brazilian singer Psirico’s hit track Lepo Lepo still. I see Waheed and Kola too.

Then come the goodbyes in Salvador the midnight before departure from Brazil. Don’t forget to call, o! Of course I won’t. It’s early morning in Sao Paolo as I arrive. I shiver in my windcheater. It’s cold. Kola picks me up in his compact car at the airport and wends through city traffic at breakneck speed. Slow down, I say. Relax, Egbon, he says. I’ve been driving for years and never once had an accident, not even a scratch. You’re safe.

Am I? I do my best to keep a composed mien.

I’m perhaps too composed, for I begin to nod and the day blurs as the sun rises and, all too soon, sinks •Lorina behind the horizon. We stop at his house. I have breakfast. He runs a few errands. Now and then his voice forces itself through my reverie. Look, bros, you’re missing the sights of Sao Paolo. Why are you sleeping now?

It’s time to leave for Nigeria finally. I’m strangely relieved. As usual, the ties to my country are strong. The last thing I remember before takeoff on the midnight flight to Lome, Togo on Ethiopian Airlines is fastening my seat belt. I wake to the clash of mealtime cutlery nearly an hour later and heartily tuck in.

In my seat on the aisle, I reflect on recent experiences afterwards. It’s funny how things go; on all flights en route to Salvador, I sit by the window and now it’s the aisle all through. A smooth and gratefully short connection with the Lagos flight from Lome caps the expedition. Home at last with the balmy atmosphere in contrast to Salvador’s moderated ambience. I shrug and lug my things through the airport as if I never left.

In my mind, I never left Brazil too. I see the faces, all or nearly all of them, as they were at first and for the last time. I hope they see me too. Goodbye, my friends. Adeus.

Jokes Humour Escape Tactics A FOOL and his friend are taken hostage by terrorists.

They are taken to a remote island and put before a firing squad.

Just before the squad fires, the friend points and shouts. “Tornado!”

The terrorists run in all different directions, and the friend escapes.

When they realise what happened, the terrorists return to the fool who remains standing in his position. They point their rifles at him.

Thinking quickly, the fool points like his friend and shouts. “Fire!”

Name Blame EIGHT months pregnant, a woman goes into a six-month coma.

When she finally wakes up in the hospital she learns from the nurse that while out cold, she had delivered twins – a girl and a boy.

The babies are healthy and her brother had named them in the absence of any other family member.

The woman expresses her shock. “My brother is such an idiot, what could he have named them? What is my daughter’s name?”

“Denise,” the nurse says.

The woman thinks this is quite nice and that perhaps her brother isn’t quite the idiot she fears. “And what is my son’s name?” she asks.

The nurse says, “Denephew.”

Small Town Justice A POLICE officer in a small town stopped a motorist speeding down Main Street. ‘’But officer,’’ the man said, ‘’I can explain.’’ ‘’Just be quiet!’’ said the officer. ‘’Or I’m going to let you cool off in jail until the police chief gets back.’’ ‘’But officer, I just wanted to say...’’ ‘’I said keep quiet! Now you’re going to jail!’’

A few hours later, the officer checked up on his prisoner and said, ‘’Lucky for you the chief is at his daughter’s wedding. He’ll be in a great mood when he gets here.’’ ‘’Don’t count on it,’’ said the prisoner. ‘’I’m the groom.’’

•Adapted from the Internet

Writer ’s Fountain a k i n g characters But what does your character really want? stand out: Apply a background. Give What is he willing to sacrifice everything for your characters some past – traumatic, and will do anything to achieve? This is the dangerous, ridiculous, and secretive –, but character’s bent. Every major character needs just don’t tell the reader about it. Make him one. This is what readers care about. guess and wonder about what happened Like background, reveal that bent gently. before that put them where they are now. Mete out his desire in small doses. It isn’t Feed Background into your story in bits and necessary to explain it all at once. Have your pieces so gently that if the reader blinks, he protagonist act in such a way that the reader might miss it. But make it interesting enough thinks “so that’s what’s really driving him.” that he won’t blink.

True, not all stories are intense or tragic Build in desire. What does your so you can’t have one character filling 400 protagonist want? To solve the crime, get the pages. There have to be tender moments, girl, overcome obstacles to find new meaning indecisive situations and angry scenes. You in his/her life? Those are normal desires. want your reader to care about these people, to get involved with them, and to believe Origin of phrases: •‘Second string,’ meaning ‘replacement or they’re real.

Give adequate description. Tell just a little, backup,’ comes from the middle ages. An archer always carried a second string in case and let the reader infer the rest. Give a description early on, so the reader doesn’t the one on his bow broke.

•‘Speak of the Devil’ is short for ‘Speak of imagine a tall, dark stranger and find out on the Devil and he shall come’. It was page 50 that he’s really a short, pale stranger. believed that if you spoke about the Devil It’s so tempting to reel out a whole paragraph it would attract his attention. That’s why of physical description at once: hair and eye when you’re talking about someone and colour, height, build, skin tone, clothes, and they show up people say ‘Speak of the get it over with. Your reader’s eyes would simply glaze over.

Devil.’

M

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What hope for outbound money transfer?Page 58, 59

-- Page 53

'Indigenous ship owners are being shortchanged' •Omatseye

Page 60

Lagos projects N400billion revenue by 2016 B

Y 2016, the projected revenue which would be generated annually in Lagos state is in excess of N400billion, Mr. Tunde Fowler, Executive Chairman, Lagos Internal Board of Revenue, has hinted.

He gave this insight during an interview with The Nation recently.

According to Fowler, Lagos state has the potential to increase its internally generated revenue given its wellstructured tax system.

"My projection comes in twofold. First of all, I will call my projection in terms of policy. Right now, in what we

Stories by Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

call the organised private sector - those are the oil companies, the banks, those who are under pay as you earn (PAYE), we have close to 90 percent tax compliance," he stressed.

Pressed further, he said: "In the unorganised informal sector, especially among professionals, it is very low. So, my projection in the next four or five years, first of all, if I put

figures to it, is that we have a 99.9 percent tax compliance across all sectors - organised private sector, informal professionals, informal skilled, government, including federal government agencies that pays taxes that everyone signs up and we have 99.9 percent.

"Now, in terms of figures, what that would be, I was reading the papers yesterday and an international agency said that they expect our internally generated revenue to hit close to N400 billion by the year 2016."

Continuing he said: "Currently, as of last year, we have about N240 billion. I believe that if we have an increase of 20 percent per year, that would translate to anywhere between N350 and N375 billion by the year 2016. And I believe that as businesses continue to grow within Lagos State, that means more people would be employed, more people would pay taxes. And I believe yes, we do financial projections but based on the level of our activities within Lagos State, we should be in that region of N375 billion in the next four to five years or in excess of N400 billion."

‘I strive to make people happy’ •Okoli

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Access Bank records 28% growth in Q3

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CCESS Bank Plc has recorded a growth of 28 per cent in profit after tax for the nine months ended September 30, 2014.

The bank's result was on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) website showed its profit after tax went up to N35.346 billion compared with N27.597 billion in the corresponding period of 2013.

Its gross earnings rose by 17.3 per cent to N181.8 billion as against N155.03 billion in 2013. Net interest income grew by 27 per cent from N59.63 billion to N75.95 billion while Earning Per Share (EPS) also rose by 28 per cent from 121 kobo in 2013 to 154 kobo in 2014.

The bank's customer deposits rose by 11 per cent while total assets increased by 13 per cent to N2.07 trillion from N1.84 trillion.

The bank has announced that it would be coming out to source for N68 billion right issue from its existing shareholders which will be channelled to boost its planned strategic expansion exercise.

The Chief Financial Officer of Access Bank, Seyi Kumapayi, while addressing journalists at a media briefing recently, explained that that the offer would be used to support the bank's expansion into high growth African economies, replace obsolete equipment of the acquired bank, upgrade in information and communication technology, as well as increase its working capital.

He added that this would sustain the bank's vision of becoming one of the most respected banks in Africa, saying: "We have engaged significant number of shareholders both at local and international levels, given this engagement, we have confidence that they will take up their right.”

He listed reasons why shareholders would invest in the bank to include its recognition as a tier one robust financial indicators, enlarged resource base with strong upside potential, credible leadership with a clear focus on value creation for shareholders, strong returns for investors-capital appreciation and dividend payout.

Berger Paints repositions for industry leadership

N •From left: Managing Director, Capital Bancorp Plc, Mr. Aigboje Higo, Chairman, Mr. Olutola Mobolurin, and Company Secretary, Mr. Adeyinka Jafojo, during the 26th annual general meeting of CBP in Lagos... recently

‘Why we invest in enterprise risk management’

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HE Chairman, Capital Bancorp Plc, Mr Olutola Mobolurin, while justifying the company's interest in enterprise risk management investment, said it is borne out of the desire to adhere to the best practices in corporate governance.

Addressing the company's shareholders at the26th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, recently, Mobolurin explained that the current global recess is a clarion call to captains of industry to address all risks that can threaten the goingconcern status of their companies in view of the harsh operating environment.

He further explained that as part of the strategy to ensure global competitiveness, the board, management and staff of Capital Bancorp Plc had undergone intensive

enterprise risk management training.

"The board on your behalf made extensive investments in fortification of our company by the implementation of an Enterprise-wide Risk Management System. This project involved a holistic training of the members of the board and all members of staff.

The investment was made towards making our company risk compliant and in entrenching and improving corporate governance," Mobolurin said.

Mobolurin who lamented the security situation in Nigeria and the impacts on corporate performance explained that it might moderate projections for all operators in the financial market. But he stated that Capital Bancorp was upbeat about the inherent

opportunities in the other lines of businesses such as Bureau De Change and leasing.

According to him, the profits realised from these business lines would boost whatever shortfall from the capital market and enhance shareholder value.

The company's performance was moderated by the inclement operating environment and this affected payment of dividend.

But Mobolurin assured the shareholders that under the company's new strategic direction, dividend would be paid next year. The company has expanded its operations with the introduction of eTrading platform which is now being deployed as a major on-line trading device.

Corroborating Mobolurin, the company's Managing Director and Chief

Executive Officer, Mr. Aigboje Higo, expressed optimism that the company would outperform the current position next financial year.Higo noted that the company is blessed with human resources who are highly committed towards innovation.

"We have a long tradition of integrity and excellent performance. We deploy some of the latest technologies to do our business. This has made us highly competitive and we shall continue to leverage on these for global best practices," said Higo.

The shareholders passed a vote of confidence on the board and management and urged them to sustain the new strategic direction in order to operate profitably irrespective of the vagaries in the operating environment.

EW chairman of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc, Dr. Oladimeji Alo, has given indication that there would be major changes in the company in a bid to reposition it for leadership position in the paints and allied industry.

The chairman stated this at a special dinner organised by the company in honour of the retiring chairman and directors of the company in Lagos recently.

As part of measures to reposition the company for the future, four directors who have attained the age of 70 years since the last AGM retired from the board at the 54thAnnual General Meeting held in July. They are Mr. Clement Olowokande (immediate past Chairman), Dr. Raymond Obieri, Engineer Olawale Akinpelu and Mr. Balram Datwani (retired non-Executive Directors).

The immediate past chairman, Mr. Olowokande, had described the development as a step designed to refresh the board of directors to continue the great task of making Berger Paints a company built to last.

The new chairman, Dr. Alo, former Director-General of Financial Institution Training Centre (FITC), said the changes in Berger Paints were meant to reposition the company in terms of boosting turnover, reducing cost, firming up processes and systems, all targeted at regaining leadership position in the industry, adding that some of the changes have begun.

He said the board would continue to need the support of the retired Directors because the wisdom they would bring to the table would continue to be valuable to the company.

In a goodwill message, Sir Sunny Nwosu, National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association, observed that although the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) did not stipulate retirement age for directors, the retiring directors decided to retire so that fresh blood could be injected into the company.

He enjoined the new chairman to ensure that more value was added to the assets being left by the retiring directors and also commended the Board for the choice of the new chairman who has distinguished himself in the financial sector and other sectors of the economy.

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What hope for outbound money tr an The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently launched the outbound money transfer service in Nigeria.

Assistant Editor, Nduka Chiejina, looks at the issues involved and presents details of the guideline for the new service.

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IME was when Nigerians in the Diaspora hard pressed for cash or in critical need of financial assistance from their folks at home could enjoy such benefits. But from all indications, this may not be a problem anymore.

Thanks to the recent introduction of the Outbound Money Transfer service by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it is believed will reduce pressure on the foreign exchange market and save independent foreign exchange users the troubles prevalent with official and parallel foreign exchange market transactions.

Over the years the CBN had initiated several interventions to manage the foreign exchange market but the naira has remained perpetually tethered machinations of forex traders.

Justification for outbound money transfer At the launch of the outbound transfer service in Abuja, it was revealed that Bureau De Changes can participate in outbound transfer of money from Nigeria to countries abroad.

According to the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the CBN has "talked with Western Union and agreed that they have to work with Bureau De Change operators that are well structured."

Conditions, he said, "will be given under which those Bureau De Change will qualify to become Western Union agents and the CBN will be providing a guarantee (of N10 million on behalf of BDCs that qualify to be on this scheme) to Western Union, Royal or Moneygram as guarantees for transactions that are done to ensure that they themselves feel secured to carry out these transactions without any problem."

That N10 million CBN guarantee Emefiele said will be taken out of the N35 million mandatory deposits by Bureau De Changes with the CBN because the apex bank is working to see that the number of outlets that engage in the transfer of money outside Nigeria increases to more than the current 5,000.

According to Emefiele, "we will ensure that the guarantees are not called that is why we are going to put in place very stringent qualifying criteria to be met before you begin to be recognized as an agent to take on these transactions." This he said is an opportunity for Bureau De Change Operators to also earn fees in areas that they would not before

•Central Bank building

now have been introduced to make the business of Bureau De Change robust."

Modus operandi Under the guidelines regulating the outbound money transfer scheme, the banks and BDCs that have met the CBN new requirements will also serve as agents for money transfer services" Emefiele said.

The transactions that are covered under this initiative "include the maintenance allowance for children abroad, maintenance allowance for aged parents abroad, personal home remittances within allowable limits, cash gifts within allowable limits and other person to person remittances."

Other measures that the CBN has introduced to manage the foreign reserve of the country the CBN governor stated "include measures to reduce foreign currency carriage and transportation outside the country, the CBN will be working with the relevant agencies where we will be looking at why people need to carry out so much cash from the country, for what purpose, if they cannot embrace the official channels that have been put in place then we will begin to ask them how much taxes they are paying for such large cash transaction out of the country."

However, where individuals feel they are carrying out legitimate transactions, the CBN, Emefiele noted: "will encourage them to adopt the legal and formal means of handling those transactions. The CBN had earlier increased the limits for credit cards and debit cards from $40,000 to $150,000 per annum. The CBN will continue to provide leadership in the payment system transactions in line with the transformation agenda of the federal government of Nigeria."

The pilot amount for outbound transfers is $2,000, "we want to start with $2,000 now to test how it will work before deciding whether to go higher. Naturally there are charges for outbound services those who

receive money from relatives abroad know that those who send money to them pay certain charges, in like manner when you want to send money abroad you will have to pay charges, the exchange rate will be determined from time to time in line with the market" the CBN governor said.

Safety precaution To check money laundering and other illegal transactions the CBN will be tracking transactions using the information collected from the customers, "returns will be taken, analysed and if it is found that a customer is using the channel for illegal transactions such customer will be cut off from the channel."

Benefits of outbound transfer The benefits of the outbound transfer service include the fact that payments for remittances abroad can be done in local currency, simplified remittance procedures and minimal control exchange documentation. In addition, bank accounts are not required to transfer funds and finally transaction points are within the reach of customers because of the existence of network of IMTO agents that we have in Nigeria.

The CBN will soon commence talks with agents to use mobile phones from any of the licensed mobile payment operators for Nigerians to send money from their naira accounts and instruct Western Union to deliver either dollars or pounds or whatever foreign currency to whoever they desire the money to be transferred to abroad.

Also with the aid of the internet Nigerians can give instructions to Western Union agents and the Naira is taken away from their accounts and effective dollar or pounds are delivered to their wards abroad. The CBN, Emefiele said, does not want its cashless policy to be only Naira cashed.

First Bank of Nigeria Plc' Group Executive in charge of Operations, Mr. Akin Fanimokun, stated that "the launch of the outbound money

transfer services into the Nigerian market means that for the first time Nigerians can send money out of the country to appointed destinations within minutes."

First Bank, he disclosed, has opened "dedicated centres open seven days a week including public holidays and offer extended service from 8am to 6 pm. First Bank has consummated this partnership with Western Union in line with the bank's mission to provide the best financial service possible while the benefit of this launch is the commission that will accrue to First Bank," he said.

Aida Diarra, Regional Vice President for Africa, Western Union Money Transfer, in her remarks, stated that Western Union is present in more than 200 countries and territories and offers services to more than 5,000 locations worldwide.

Last year alone she said Western Union "processed more than 459 million business transactions, more than 260 million consumer to consumer transactions representing something like $82 billion of principal exchange between consumers."

This, she noted, "is quite an achievement when you look at the number of countries we serve, we realize that remittance plays a key role in the economic dynamics and development of the countries, in most of them remittance represents more than 10 per cent of GDP and in most of them remittance is bigger than foreign direct investment."

Western Union Money Transfer, she explained, has diversified portfolios made available to consumers with the help of new technology be it mobile internet and other technologies.

Today someone with a bank account can receive money directly with the account based Western Union through the internet platform of agent partners, through ATMs or through kiosks.

She added that this also "enables customers with electronic

wallets to be able to collect their Western Union transactions directly onto their mobile wallets also making it possible for customers to collect their transaction through Western Union websites which is the first Receive-website globally that we have launched."

Outbound transaction, the Western Union executive said, will enable financial inclusion by bringing consumers to Point of Sale to deposit naira and be able to send transaction or cash anywhere in the world. The reason it took so long for outbound money transfer to come to Nigeria, she disclosed, "is because everywhere we work we want to make sure that we do so in alignment with regulations placed in the given country. It is with the blessing of the CBN and the governor after we met the requirement necessary to offer outbound money transfer that we were able to do so now."

The cost of the transfer transaction, she said, "will be in line with what obtains in Nigeria today. It will be per principal sum to be sent.

Percentage varies according to the principal."

Foreign exchange traders are happy with this initiative and have described it as revolutionary but that have urged the apex bank to set up a monitoring unit that will ensure that banks and other operators do not frustrate the new policy by strictly adhering to the issue of BDCs using any bank closest to them for the service and the banks not insisting on having an account with them. These measures the forex traders believe will substantially minimise tension in the foreign exchange market.

The initiative, according to foreign exchange traders, will complement the effort of the apex bank in foreign exchange management.

The first peg of this initiative was the recent revision of bureau de change capital base from N10 million to N35 million.

Guidelines The CBN in the guideline it re-

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

59

Experts task women on real estate investment

tr ansfer?

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•Emefiele

leased to regulate outbound money transfer had stated that "where the beneficiary does not have a bank account or mobile money wallet, payments shall only be made upon the provision of a satisfactory reference from a current account holder in a bank, confirming that the beneficiary is the bona fide owner of the funds."

According to the guidelines, the currency to be given to a money transfer agent for an outbound transfer shall be the naira; all outward payment transaction shall be executed in a convertible currency agreed between the parties.

It added: "Where a currency conversion service is offered before initiation of a payment transaction or at the point of payment, the money transfer services operator must disclose all charges, as well as the exchange rate to be used for converting the payment transaction."

In the guideline under the title: Disqualification of Shareholders and officers, the CBN noted that "in line with the BOFI Act No. 25 of 1991 [as amended], all the conditions stipulating the exclusion of certain individuals from the management of banks, shall apply to the management of Money Transfer Service Providers, except with the written permission of the Governor of the CBN. Shareholders and officers of the company shall be disqualified, based on the provisions of Section 44 (2) of the BOFIA 1991 as amended. The section provides that: No person shall be appointed or shall remain a director, secretary or an officer of a bank who: is of unsound mind or as a result of ill- health is incapable of carrying out his duties; is declared bankrupt or suspends payments or compounds with his creditors including his bankers; is convicted of any offence involving dishonesty or fraud; is guilty of serious misconduct in relation to his duties; and in the case of a person possessed of professional qualifi-

BUSINESS

cation, is disqualified or suspended (otherwise than of his own request) from practicing his profession in Nigeria by the order of any competent authority made in respect of him personally."

Non Permissible Activities as contained in the guideline states that "a money transfer operator is not authorised to: act as an authorized dealer in gold or other precious metals; engage in deposit taking and/or lending money; maintain current accounts on behalf of customers; establish letters of credit; act as a custodian of funds on behalf of customers; engage in institutional transfers. (A money transfer service operator shall not engage in any other business other than as authorised by the Bank.) and buy foreign exchange from the domestic foreign exchange market for settlement.

With regards to charges, all money transfer operators shall comply with the guide to money transfer charges, as provided by the CBN from time to time. The provider must make refund where wrong, inappropriate or disproportionate charges or fees are identified internally by provider.

Each operator shall provide a Complaints Management Unit to resolve complaints or disputes submitted by its customers. The unit guideline said "shall provide its services free of charge through well publicised and dedicated channels, including phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

An operator must fully investigate complaints and make appropriate decision and communicate same to the complainant within one week of the receipt of complaints. Each complaint shall be assigned a unique identifier for ease of reference and operators shall provide dedicated phone, email or other means by which complainants may enquire about the progress of their complaints.

In addition, operators shall provide a response to all enquiries within 48 hours of receipt.

Where a complainant is dissatisfied with the decision, the operator shall provide an internal mechanism to review its initial decision. The review body must arrive at a decision within one week of receiving letter of dissatisfaction from a complainant; Where a complainant is not satisfied with a decision of a review body, the complainant may escalate the issue to the Director, Consumer Protection Department, Central Bank of Nigeria; and A provider shall render monthly returns on all complaints to the Director, Trade & Exchange Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja, in a format approved by the bank.

HE Chief Executive Officer of Fine Country, Mrs. Udo Maryanne Okonjo, has appealed to African women to brace up for the opportunities in the real estate sector as it is an avenue for economic empowerment and emancipation.

Okonjo made this known at the Real Estate Unit African's Property Market 2014 Edition organised by 3invest in conjunction with Diamond Bank, Greenadines, CMB Building and Investment Company, held in Lagos recently.

Tagged: 'Ignite the Fire: Where lies the key?' it brought together hundreds of real estate experts, developers, health practitioners, members of the academia, construction companies, etc.

According to her, real estate is an integral part of wealth creation for nations of the world and women must empower themselves to take advantage of the opportunities in the sector.

While buttressing her point, Okonjo said women's participation in real estate drives the richest china women as 15 Chinese women have a network income of $30billion linked with real estate investment.

She said the Chairwoman, Longfor Properties Co, Wu Yajun, who tops the lists of Chinese richest women, has a net worth of $6.4bil-

By Adeola Ogunlade

lion, started with little funds as a real estate developer and today holds a major stake in the real estate business in China. Raising a poser, she said: "Are there barriers? No, real estate is an integrity game. We have no excuse. There are any areas in real estate that we can cover which include estate agency, developer, buying and selling of houses and there are no barriers."

While admitting that there are challenges facing the real estate sector, such as inadequate infrastructure, funding, to mention just a few, she, however, stressed that these hiccups are altogether surmountable.

Also speaking at the event, the Managing Director of Standard Chattered, Mrs. Bola Adesola, said that women can only thrive in real estate if they are willing to leave their comfort zone and take risk.

She said that smart investment is needed in the real estate sector and women must be willing to invest and take calculated risks.

Echoing similar sentiments, the Managing Director of Rainbow Town Development Limited, Chima Ucheya, said that the difference between a failed capitalist and those that succeeded is the ability to create wealth through the real estate.

He charged women not to exhibit lay back approach in exploring the opportunities in the real estate because of their gender.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Managing Director of 3invest, Mrs. Ruth Obih, said that the summit is an annual gathering of real estate professionals aimed at exploring untapped opportunities within the society.

She said: "It is designed to drive sustainable growth and shared prosperity in Nigeria's real estate industry. We believe that Africa's largest economy has a strong role to play in making real estate a major contributor to national GDP across the continent. Thus the event brings together global experts to uncover untapped opportunities within the industry."

Obik who restated the commitment of the 3invest to the real estate in Africa said "we are responsive to the current trend in the industry, the 204 Real Estate Unite will introduce a new market opportunity in healthcare real estate where are going to earnestly address the future of healthcare services from the real estate point of view."

The highpoint of the occasion was an awards ceremony, exhibition as well as launching of the African Women in Real Estate (AWIRE).

DHL Express certified as top employer

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DHL Express SSA has been certified as a Top Employer in Africa for its outstanding employee offerings across the region.

This is in addition to six African countries - South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Ghana that were also certified Top Employers in their local markets.

Independent research by the Top Employers Institute shows the company looks after its people exceptionally well and DHL Express is one of the select few companies to achieve the exclusive Top Employers Africa 2015 certification in various African regions in which they operate.

According to Charles Brewer, MD of DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa, this achievement is an acknowledgement of the business's strong focus on employee engagement, development and training on the African continent.

Top Employers is a global and annual programme that certifies organisations which successfully demonstrate exceptional HR environments and employee offerings. The programme is an audited and research based process

that assesses employee offerings as well as the conditions employers create for staff to develop.

Brewer observed that this accolade is testament to their dedication of having motivated employees, which is a key focus pillar of their strategy.

"Understanding the need to drive a common culture across 220 countries, we launched a Certified International Specialists training program for all 3,500 staff in Africa.

Everyone from the Global CEO to a Courier in any country has gone through this training program reinforcing our core competencies as an organisation. CIS training has been central to our staff retention and development globally."

The Top Employers Institute assessed DHL Express' employee offerings on various criteria, including talent strategy, workforce planning, employee on, learning and development, performance management, leadership development, career and succession management, compensation and benefits and company culture.

Crucial to the Top Employers

process is that participating companies must meet the required high standard in the research in order to achieve the certification.

Only organisations that achieve certification in at least four countries within the region deserve the special Top Employers Africa 2015 recognition. The independent research has verified DHL Express' outstanding employee conditions in all certified countries.

Judith Oude Sogtoen, Director of International Business Development for the Top Employers Institute said: "Our extensive research concluded that DHL Express forms part of a select group of employers that advance employee conditions worldwide.

Their people are well taken care of.

Now that they have received the Top Employers Africa 2015 certification, they can truly consider themselves at the top of an exclusive group of the world's best employers, a reason to celebrate!"

"We truly value external recognition and believe that it affirms our position as the International Specialists in Africa."

Train passengers bemoan fare hike

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N its determination to provide efficient service delivery to patrons of train transportation nationwide, the federal government launched new coaches for various routes in major metropolis and other cities across the states of the federation.

Laudable as this is initiative is, some Nigerians have decried what they called "outrageous fares” being charged by the commercial.

Speaking with a cross-section of passengers, they complained that the fares, up from N70- 230 to N500- N750 respectively, have become priced away from the reach of the common man.

By Olawande Olamide Speaking to some of the passengers, one of who in simply gave his name as Stanley, said: "The railway is very useful for people like me, as it lessens my stress. But the new fare is too high compared to the old one."

However, for Mr. Alade, he prefers that of N750 because of his health since the trains are fully airconditioned.

According to Alade, the old train should be made available for carrying luggage, while the new ones should be for passengers.

Another passenger said the increase is due to the selfishness of the government.

While speaking with some of the Railway officials, who asked not to be named, they disclosed that the order came from the Minister for Transportation. They further explained that the new one offers the passengers comfort and there is no room for standing in the train.

The people are urging the government to reduce the price of the train because the price of the train should be lesser to that of commercial vehicles and the rest.

Fina Trust MFB restates commitment to CSR

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INA Trust Microfinance Bank has restated its determination to impact positively on the society through its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

As part of its five anniversary, the bank, which has grown its customers to over 5,000 since inception, reached out to the less-privileged people, including beggars and inmates of Old People’s Home, Yaba, Lagos on Thursday where they donated food provisions worth several thousands of naira.

Explaining the rationale for the

gesture, Managing Director, Mr. Deji Popoola, who led his team on the train said, “For us at Fina Trust, we’ve decided to take the less-privileged in our society as part of us. So, on a quarterly basis, we decided to pick a minimum of a thousand people. It is our desire that by God’s grace before the end of a financial year, we would have been able to reach out to over 50,000 people on a yearly basis. I know by five years, we would have been able to at least reach out to a quarter of a million people.”

Besides, he said beyond this is the

fact that the bank is also identifying with the elderly people in the society by providing for their health care facility and also find out their other challenges with a view to alleviating their hardship and make them much more comfortable.

According to him, reaching out to the less-privileged is something the bank has been doing as a specific programme and initiative since its inception. “Last year we were at Modupe Cole where we identified with them.”

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O Mr. Temisanren Raymond Omatseye, former Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety agency (NIMASA), he is convinced that majority of Nigerian ship owners have suffered a lot of privations more than they are willing to admit, hence he holds the view and very strongly too that there is need for a paradigm shift.

Omatseye who is currently vying for the position of President, Nigeria Indigenous Ship Owners' Association (NISA), the umbrella industry association of vessel owners, observed that there is a lot of misconception about what the average ship owner does as such, they are being made the butt of derisive jokes out there.

Going down memory lane, Omatseye who is very passionate about the shipping industry spoke of his foray in the shipping business.

"Sincerely, I must be very frank with you, I have maritime-shipping running in my vein. Everybody has their major and minor. For me, shipping is my major.

“Well, I'm sure a lot of indigenous Nigeria ship owners will remember clearly when I first became the DG, one thing I said to them was that I needed to prepare a maritime administration that worked well so that when I come out as a maritime administrator, things would be very okay because I was on this side of the fence with them before I went to the other side of the fence. I have seen both sides of the fence. I have seen the issues a maritime administrator faces and I have seen what the ship owners are facing. Ship owners are the ones that know what pains they go through but maritime administrators have issues because they don't appreciate this because many of the guys who are into maritime administration have not been in shipping.

"So, when a ship owner tells me this is the issue, I can tell him that, okay yes I know because I can feel what is happening as a ship owner. This is because I have been in the industry to understand what happens as a ship owner and I can also say, well, this is the problem a maritime administrator would have. What we need to do is to see how we can bring the maritime administrator to a position with the ship owners so that the industry can move in sync because what you find out is that most times, a ship owner is suffering and a maritime administrator is shouting. And all of a sudden, they are both fighting themselves and nothing is moving forward.

"In the view people who are not wellinformed about the Nigerian ship owners the belief is that the Nigerian ship owners come on board they steal products and they are the ones providing these vessels that is used to do these illegal activities. So what we are trying to do is to clean up the system. It starts by saying this is who we are, what you are doing is affecting our business; it doesn't allow people to do business with us. So let us clean up ourselves, once we do that we will continue to get our business moving," he emphasised.

Expatiating, the maritime expert said: "There is also the issue of security. The Nigerian Navy also wants to help us. So we are going to register our vessels with the Navy and have a direct line of communication between the Navy and the ship owners. Once any of our vessels is being attacked, the vessel knowing the exact location will send a message to the Navy, and the Navy will automatically pick that place and go and engage and try to save that person. But if you are not a member, we are not going to protect you."

Of concern to Omatseye, who sits atop as Chairman, Polmaz Limited, is the problem of finance and opening up businesses for ship owners. "There is no reason why an average Nigerian ship owner should have the best of everything. With my links in Singapore, in Korea, in South Africa and in America, and the open channels in Brazil, in India, we will see what will happen, and how we are going to get the Nigerian ship owners to come together and raise IPO's to buy vessels through the new SME reforms.”

Pressed further, he said: "Ship owners are facing challenges in securing contract of afreightment. I have always said this, that a man who does not have cash flow cannot run a successful business. What is happening is that the businesses that

'Indigenous ship owners are being shortchanged'

•Omatseye

By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

should naturally be given to Nigerians who are capable of doing them, are being given to foreign ship owners who are not domiciling the money in Nigeria but rather taking it away as capital flight. So, that is the major challenge Nigerian ship owners are facing."

"Already, I am discussing with the Nigeria Stock Exchange. I am also trying to see how we can get the Nigerian Navy to shut down on illegal trawlers and then bring foreign partners to work on Nigerian ship trawlers. I want to get government to take over KLT II, and make it a seafood hub/depot where all trawlers come, so from there people come and buy their fish. Because the problems trawler owners are facing is their bunkers, so we are going to create a fuel station, why because any time you come and buy fish we fuel you, so that you don't have to carry cash. Because ship owners that are not able to get to their bunkers are forced to give their masters cash. So when they get out there, pirates knowing that the guys have cash, and then they steal the cash, beat them up and take their fish. We know what the problems are, so we will engage government to see how they will assist us in curbing this menace."

On what ship owners stand to gain under his administration, the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and London School of Economics trained graduate reiterated that: "The first thing I would do is to bring all Nigerian ship owners irrespective of the own-

ership they have whether it's offshore vessels, fishing trawlers, tankers and what not, under one umbrella. Now, within that one umbrella, we can now operate. All ship owners irrespective of who they are must speak with one voice. There must be a unity of purpose because we are all buying the bunkers from the same place and sourcing our seafarers from the same place. Therefore, we should also be able to draw in the master mariners, the dockworkers, and the chandeliers, to come in and work with us because it's us shippers that are providing the businesses that drive them to come. So, if I emerge as president of the association, my aim is to bring everybody on board. " "So, when we come on board, one of our mandates would be to find ways and means of how a maritime administrator can support the ship owners to meet international standards and how we can create the contract for Nigerian ship owners to get enough cash flow to get the kind of internationally acceptable vessels that would make a maritime administrator not come after him", he stressed.

On other challenges assailing ship owners, he reiterated that ship owners are being shortchanged economically by the system, a development which makes it practically impossible to move their businesses forward.

“A man who does not have cash flow cannot run a successful business. What is happening is that the businesses that should naturally be given to Nigerians who are capable of doing them, are being given to for-

"Ship owners are facing challenges in securing contract of afreightment. I have always said this, that a man who does not have cash flow cannot run a successful business.

What is happening is that the businesses that should naturally be given to Nigerians who are capable of doing them, are being given to foreign ship owners who are not domiciling the money in Nigeria but rather taking it away as capital flight. So, that is the major challenge Nigerian ship owners are facing."

eign ship owners who are not domiciling the money in Nigeria but rather taking it away as capital flight. So, that is the major challenge Nigerian ship owners are facing.

"Consequently, what now happens is that Nigerian ship owners are not able to pay for some kind of services, such as buying his bunkers.

"A Nigerian ship owner would rather buy his bunkers directly from a Nigerian bunkering supplier. But what happens is that the foreign ship owner would rather go to Lome, in Togo, saying, well, I believe the quality of bunkers in Lome are better than what we get in Nigeria. So, that is money we're losing to outsiders. Whereas a Nigerian ship owner, which I know is the case, would rather buy his bunkers here. Right now, we have to look at how we can discourage this form of capital flight."

He also spoke of plans to encourage a synergy of cooperation among the different groups within the shipping sub-sector.

"The first thing I would do is to bring all Nigerian ship owners irrespective of the ownership they have whether it's offshore vessels, fishing trawlers, tankers and what not, under one umbrella. Now, within that one umbrella, we can now operate. All ship owners irrespective of who they are must speak with one voice. There must be a unity of purpose because we are all buying the bunkers from the same place and sourcing our seafarers from the same place. Therefore, we should also be able to draw in the master mariners, the dockworkers, and the chandeliers, to come in and work with us because it's us shippers that are providing the businesses that drive them to come. So, if I emerge as president of the association, my aim is to bring everybody on board."

Expatiating, the Warri Prince said: "The other programmes I'm going to have is also working very closely with other government institutions. This is not a situation where we are going to be a lame duck. We need to let the government hear us. We will impress on the government the benefits of having a very strong ship owners' association. And one of the things we're going to do is basically put on the table, to show government the drain pipes on the economy. We're going to sit down, we're going to do a study, we're going to show them figures of the impact on the economy by virtue of the failure of government not utilising Nigerian ship owners. It's going to be scientific, not sentimental. And we're not going to fight government. We want to work with government to find solutions to problems as it relates to logistics, subsidies, etc.

“We would, as an association, show the government how Apapa can be decongested under a true cabbottage regime. We intend to carry out mass mobilisation of all stakeholders in the industry to bring about all-round development of the sector. ‘’ There is need to ensure that the Lagos anchorage is made safe and becomes a centre of activity and hub to all maritime trade in West Africa.

“Issues of overpriced marine insurance policies must be looked into as well as empowerment of the operators including seafarers, master mariners, dockworkers, chandeliers, etc, in terms of access to better and efficient services within the sector and beyond.

“Besides, transparency, probity and accountability will be the watchword of this administration. We shall run an open-door policy at all time.

“We would make deliberate efforts to improve on the existing communication among the operators through regular interfaces and discussion sessions, among others.

“I have no doubt in my mind that we can collectively build the Nigerian shipping industry of our dream where peace, security and justice reign for all.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

Start-up promotes Apps for parents, teachers

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L

AGOS-based Genii Games Limited has announced its membership of Moms With Apps - the first destination that makes finding great apps for children easy. The site, launched recently, has 1000 high quality apps from trustworthy developers and gives parents simple tools to find the right ones for their kids.

Genii Games Asa (culture in Yoruba language) brand of apps provide kids with simple and fun ways of getting acquainted to the African culture including folktales, folksongs, languages, ethics, etiquette, history. The apps can be found on the new site at www.momswithapps.com/geniigames.

"I'm proud to be a member of Moms With Apps," said Adebayo Adegbembo, founder and lead programmer at Genii Games Limited.

"I know first-hand how challenging it is to choose the best and most appropriate apps. This new site gives parents and teachers the power to make the best choices for their kids."

Moms With Apps is designed, from the ground up, by parents for parents. It starts with a tightly curated set of high quality kids' apps from developers who are passionate about creating amazing apps for kids. Moms With Apps then gives parents simple tools to find the right apps for their kids by age range, subject matter, privacy settings, and even whether the app works without an internet connection. The site features the products of top app developers.

"With over one million apps to

•From left: Dr. Oladimeji Alo, Chairman and Mr. Clement Olowokande, immediate past Chairman both of Berger Paints Nigeria Plc at a special dinner in honour of retiring chairman and directors of the company in Lagos…recently.

Stories by Joe Agbro Jr. choose from, parents struggle to find the right apps for their family and find it even harder to know if the app their kid loves is one they can trust," says Sara Kloek, director of Moms With Apps. "We are thrilled to announce the launch of Moms With Apps, the only resource for parents who want to find great, trustworthy apps for their children."

Also, recently, Genii Games announced the release of its app -Ad-

ventures of the Tortoise for iPads and Android devices. The app also comes under its Asa brand of African Culture teaching apps primarily targeted at kids. It is currently available on the Apple Store and Google Play for free downloads. Adventures of the Tortoise is a growing collection of morally and culturally rich stories centred on the character, Tortoise. It is a highly engaging, colourful rich blend of stories, songs and games all within one app.

"Adventures of the Tortoise was

motivated by the need to recreate stories, which many adults grew up listening to in Africa," a statement issued by the company said. "The stories are adapted from various African cultures hence, traditional names, scenarios, dressing and songs are used to depict and convey simple Cultural themes."

Playing interactive games, learning folksongs, and easy accessibility to reading highlighted texts are some ways which children get to interact with the app.

Mega Trade Fair, Carmudi seal partnership deal

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OPULAR online automobile marketing platform, Carmudi Nigeria, has sealed a deal which makes the company the official marketing partner for the automobile sector of the forthcoming Mega Trade Fair in Ibadan.

The partnership deal, signed between SNX Media, the organisers of the Mega Trade Fair, and Ecart Internet Services Nigeria Limited, the mother company

C

CHUB, a social innovation centre, recently boosted its incubation programme with the launch of a $500,000 seed investment fund to support early stage start-ups over the next two years.

According to the arrangement, start-ups will receive sums ranging from $10,000 - $25,000 to support business model experimentation and operations.

Initial beneficiaries of the seed programme are Truppr.com, Traclist.com, 500shops.com, Geniigames.com, and Vacantboards.com.

The announcement comes on the occasion of first anniversary of its incubation office which amongst

Etisalat to empower UNILAG students

of Carmudi, gives the personnel of the online automobile marketing platform the right to take over the marketing of the car fair both online and offline (Ibadan only).

Speaking during the signing ceremony at EXPOYO, the permanent trade fair complex in Ibadan during the week, the president of the Mega Trade Fair, Mr. Delight Owoyemi, commended the vision of Carmudi and the efforts put in place to make the company a front

runner in online marketing.

He said he hoped that the relationship would be a marathon one.

Responding, the public relations manager of Carmudi, Vivian Iweha who signed the memorandum of understanding on behalf of her company, said the relationship was an offshoot of the initiatives being taken by the private sector in driving the economy.

The second edition of the 10day Mega Trade Fair, which held

in collaboration with the Oyo State Government and the Oyo State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OYCCIMA), began on October 3 and ends today.

Also present at the ceremony were the director of communications of the Mega Trade Fair, Mr. ToyeFawole, and the finance/administrative manager of Carmudi, Mrs. Sarah A. Adetokun.

CC-Hub launches $500, 000 seed fund

other services provides entrepreneurs with mentorship, user testing, access to markets, office space and administration.

The initial beneficiaries of the seed investment went through CCHUB's Pre-Incubation programme which identifies and supports aspiring technology entrepreneurs looking to address local market problems with relevant solutions.

Through the $90,000 Tony Elumelu Foundation/CC-HUB preseed fund, beneficiaries started out with a grant award of $5,000 each to support their ideas, build working prototypes, carry out initial market testing & proof their concepts. These

ideas grew steadily, earning revenues, increasing their user bases and building partnerships hence needing a different kind of support.

"CC-Hub incubation office launched in response to the need to provide business development, mentoring and funding support to start-ups that showed traction from our impactful Pre-incubation program," says 'BosunTijani, CEO and Co-founder of CC-Hub. "Our seed investment ensures start-ups have a sure footing post/ Pre-incubation to concentrate on rapidly executing their plans and learning from the market."

CC-Hub's Director of Incubation,

TunjiEleso said, "discussions are already underway with investors to provide additional funding to two of our initial beneficiaries and we hope to break the news in the coming months. We welcome start-ups looking to transform the way Nigerians live, play and do business to apply to join our portfolio by sending their pitch their deck to incubation@cchubnigeria.com."

Co-Creation Hub provides a platform for software developers, organisations, government officials, businesses, and academics to harness ideas to address myriads of social and economic challenges that impact the lives of Nigerians every day.

HE Head of Youth Segment, Etisalat, Mr Elvis Daniel, at the weekend, said that the company would continue to empower the youth in line with its guiding principles0.

Daniel, in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos, said the company had scheduled its next `Cliqfest' programme for the University of Lagos as part of efforts to achieve the objective.

He said that 'Etisalat Cliqfest' was an educational, entertainment and reward initiative targeted at Nigerian students and would be taken to UNILAG on Oct. 16.

According to him, the youth empowerment programme, which has been held in several tertiary institutions nationwide, is aimed at motivating Nigerian youths to keep pursuing their dreams. ``Etisalat Cliqfest is a festival of sports, entertainment and education designed to help Nigerian tertiary institutions produce confident students who are well equipped for the challenges of a rapidly-evolving world. ``It is our own way of giving them opportunities to identify with their passion, have fun while learning, and experience Etisalat's youth product - Easycliq,'' Daniel said.

He said that the student empowerment initiative was recently held in Ebonyi State University, where students won laptops, mobile phones, and other prizes.

According to him, a 400 Level Food, Science and Technology student, Ms ObiamakaEdokobi, won the grand prize of a brand new car during the raffle draw.

Micro Finance banks commit to CSR

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ICRO Finance Banks in Sokoto State at the weekend pledged commitment to execute projects in the state as part of their social responsibility.

The newly elected chairman of the National Association of MicroFinance Banks (NAMBs), Sokoto State chapter, AlhajiAdamuJoda, made the pledge in his post-election speech.

“We will continue to complement the efforts of the three tiers of government in the provision of social needs of the people.

“This is aside the normal operational commitments of the banks to provide dependable and reliable banking services to the people of the state,” Joda, said.

He said that given the competing demands on its resources, the government needed other sectors of the society to augment its efforts.

In his speech, the patron of the association, Alhaji Ibrahim Aduwa, called on members to discharge their responsibilities with high sense of professionalism.

“We will continue to enlighten the public through the media and other means on our activities and the existence of our banks.”

62

BUSINESS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 62, 2014

‘I strive to make people happy’ Dr. Stella Okoli, Founder/Chief Executive Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, one of the leading indigenous pharmaceutical companies.

In this interview with Adetutu Audu she speaks on the ups and downs of building a successful business empire

65

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

I

N writing Fela Son of Kuti, Cornel Onyekaba has demonstrated that there is plenty of theatre in life itself. Every man's life is full of theatre, more so someone like Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the Abami Eda, whose own life was full of events, activities and actions that made him the cynosure of public eyes. From the moment Fela Son of Kuti hit the National Theatre, Lagos, Fela himself came alive stirring souls and touching and piercing hearts.

The opening scene created the magic.

Fela was seen on stage with his numerous wives and band boys playing Zombie. His trade mark Igbo was dangling between his right fingers. At a stage, it really appeared as if Fela himself was the one playing the scene. The scene was done on purpose. Soon after FESTAC'77, Fela was noted to have criticised the Federal military government led by General Olusegun Obasanjo for having wasted a lot of money on the festival.

For a while, the anger which he ignited in the minds of the military was reaching a boiling point. The Federal government was waiting for an opportunity to hit Fela and probably destroy his Kalakuta Republic.

Then suddenly Fela released his Zombie, a mockery of the lifestyle of the military. This was the height of it all. So, as he and his people were on stage playing and demonstrating Zombie, the military struck.

They struck, not only to disrupt the flow, but to also cripple Fela, render him useless and teach him an everlasting lesson. So, with brutal force, never seen in the history of any society where the military displayed the worst heinous crime ever, the Kalakuta Republic, located along Mushin - Ojuelegba axis of Lagos, was dismantled.

Fela was taken away in a commando style, while most of his queens were raped, brutalised and dehumanised. Watching the scenes in form of stage theatre brought back the memories of those days when the military held the yam and the knife. It showed Fela entangled in the hands of his worst enemies, the enemies of the society, where no one had the temerity to criticise the government.

As the soldiers stormed the inner foyers of the Kalakuta, they unleashed mayhem on everything, everybody in sight. The most pathetic and perhaps symbolic of the scenes was when they began to look for Fela's mother. "Kai, kai," a soldier shouted, "where that woman dey? Make we make am pay. No be she dey give Fela juju?." As he did so, he looked upstairs with blood stained eyes, pointing his gun everywhere, towards every movement, looking for Funmilayo RansomKuti, the 78-year-old mother of Fela, to harass and torture and perhaps kill.

Meanwhile, in the background, Fela's music played nonstop. Different songs of his played to depict the scenes, the sorrowful mood to register the agony and the import of the situation in the minds of the people.

"Stupid man," a soldier shouted is he sighted one of Fela's boys. "You people say water no get enemy. Today you go see enemy plenty. Kai - kai yeye man." Then he spat and hit the man on the head. As the man struggled to his feet, a busty lady came along, trying to find a way of escape, because at that time the place was already burning. There was confusion everywhere. He got closer to her, pointing both his torch light and gun on her chest, asking: Wetin be this for your chest? Na water abi na chest out? Answer me now now or I go bust the yeye thing comot for your chest.

Ashawo like you." Then he disappeared with the lady amid more confusion and yelling and screaming.

Interestingly, the audience reaction was spontaneous. It was a show that held people spellbound. No one was in a hurry to leave.

The intriguing elements of theatre were present and the totality of the show proved that the playwright did his research very well. Tunji Sotimirin, who handled proceedings, told the audience that this is the Fela we knew. This is the Fela everybody is missing today. This is Fela that used music, beautiful lyrics to rule the minds of

•A soldier harrassing inmates of Kalakuta Republic

Time for Zombie once again Once again, Fela came alive; he came alive on stage in the minds of those who cherish what he did to challenge oppressions of all sorts through his lyrics. Last weekend, thespians and artistes gathered at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, to watch Fela Son of Kuti, a stage satire on the life and times of Fela, written by Cornel Onyekaba.

The show re-enacted the 1977burning down of the Kalakuta Republic and other sundry issues around the Abami Eda. Edoze Udeze reports.

•Inmates of Kalakuta Republic discussing their fate after the destruction

the people.

At a stage the whole scenes sounded as if people were at the shrine, the African Shrine, savouring the opulence of the place and watching Fela release yabis in reasonable quantum. As he was led out of the Kalakuta, the boys regrouped someplace with a few of his queens who still had the courage. The scenario thus registered proved how critical the situation was. The band boys and girls began an argument as to whether Fela was right in his approach to music. Was it right for him to build a republic within a republic? Why would he abandon Kola Lobito to delve into Egypt'80 or rebrand his music to criticise government nonstop?

The issues raised by those people and the content and strength of their argument went further to show how deep they were; how Fela's doctrine had been able to penetrate their inner-minds. While some of them berated him for his fire brand stance on national and international issues, others supported him, saying, one has to live the sort of life he desires for himself and for his people.

On the symbolism of Kalakuta Republic, •Turn to Page 56

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ARTS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

Iredi War wins 2014 $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature A

WINNER has emerged for The Nigeria Prize for Literature, 2014 edition. Iredi War by Sam Ukala has been adjudged winner of the prestigious prize by the panel of judges led by Prof.

Charity Angya.

Iredi War was selected from 124 Playes submitted for the competition, which focus on Drama this year.

The work of the panel of judges produced a shortlist of 49, 25, 11, and then three from which the winning entry emerged. The other two books that were in the final shortlist are: Alekwu Night Dance by Friday John Abba and Oduduwa, King of the Edosby Jude Idada.

In arriving at Ukala's Iredi War, the Judges specifically commended "the masterly handling of vast historical material through the narrative and action method."

According to Prof.Angya, “The language captures indigenous sensibilities, preserves the profundity of the original, and yet entertains.”

In addition, the Independent International Consultant to the Advisory Board on the 2014 Prize, Prof. Mzo Sirayi, described the thematic focus of the book as, 'poignant, proactive and stimulating.'

In his words, 'At no other time in history will the theme of war be more relevant than now given rising provocations and

By Edozie Udeze

conflicts in different parts of the world.”

For the first time since it was introduced in 2012, a winner, Isidore

•From left: Elugbe, Agada, Banjo, Iresia-Eke and Angya addressing the press

Invisible Borders stop over at SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin

O

N their way from Lagos to Sarajevo the Invisible Borders team gathered in Berlin on Thursday, October 9 to talk about their transcontinental road trip, works created thus far and impressions they have created.

To explore the politics of Berlin spaces they chose to work in the neighbourhood of Marzahn to look at the stereotypes and realities that manifest themselves as a different kind of powerful borderlines. Furthermore they are planning to learn more about the vigorous struggle by refugee activists all over the city.

"Marzahn is a suburb of Berlin notorious for being a reminder of Germany's ugly legacy.

Those who distant themselves from that legacy also distant themselves from this suburb and its inhabitants. While there are reasons for this, I believe it is dangerous to generalize because then we shut our doors to many other possibilities of reading our own humanness. I hope you take something out of my point of view and do let me know what you think especially those who know this place more than I do," says Emeka Okereke, calling for a conversation on the place.

During their stopovers the artists develop

•Captured in Bamako, Mali

photographic, video and text works that deal with the notions of border and separation, while at the same time reflecting on their interactions with local artists, cultural operators and residents. The road trips are supplemented by exhibitions, workshops and events in which the works of the

Zombie again

•Fela some of them agreed that it was an artistic expression which Fela created to support his brand of music and the messages he had for the people. Fela was an iconoclast and you cannot silence him. His exposure to the United States of America where he met Sandra thus became a turning point in his life. Then, the tempo of the music changed, the content became more forceful, with Fela himself being a person whose attitude towards oppression, subjugation and bad

Diala, also emerged for the Literary Criticism Award. The award, introduced to reward literary critics of Nigerian Literature from all over the world, attracts one million naira (N1, 000, 000) cash

government, becoming more vociferous and somewhat volatile.

But how did Fela manage to survive?

Well, as an Abami Eda, a cat with several lives, he came out of it, though physically brutalised and terribly dehumanised. But he became stronger in the mind with renewed psyche more determined to defend the people through his music. At that point when he called a world press conference to state his case and show where he was inflicted with injuries and wounds, Fela had indeed succeeded in drawing world-wide attention and sympathy to himself. Even though the Republic was shattered and never to rise again, he nonetheless moved on. He moved on to create more stirring and disturbing lyrics and soul-searching ideologies to pep up the minds of the youths. Everywhere soldiers touched, Fela said, they leave sorrows, tears and blood. Referring to these as their regular trademark, he released coffin for the head of state and confusion breakbone to further diminish the military in the eyes of the people.

In fact, deeper political and social issues hence remained his stock in trade. Then the tempo became slower but more evocative, provocative and penetrating. Fela found strength in his own situation and suffering to further demonstrate that music is a weapon for change and awareness. Biodun Abe, one

journey are presented and discussed.

The Invisible Borders Trans-African Photographers Organization is a platform that assembles African artists (photographers, writers, video artists, art critics, art historians and performance artists) with zeal and passion for social change, that defiant energy that refuses to be bridled by obstacles of existing norms.

The mission of the Organisation is to be part of Africa's story, by Africans, through photography and inspiring artistic interventions; to establish a platform that encourages TransAfrican relationships within the continent, and to contribute towards the socio-political discourse shaping Africa of the 21st Century.

During the last four editions of the Road Trip the group has explored African countries from the West to the East and Central Africa. The vast impressions led to reflections surrounding the complexness of borders. The road trip project is an attempt to draw a tangible line of connection across chosen geographic locations in order to transcend the limitations proposed by the existing demarcating lines.

In its 5th edition the Invisible Borders TransAfrican Photographers Organization embarked on their first Trans-Continental Road Trip from Lagos (Nigeria) to Sarajevo (Bosnia) which leads them through 21 countries in Africa and Europe.

The journey which kicked off on the 2nd of June, will last 151 days (22 weeks) running to October 31.

of the organizers of the series of plays said "it is a play of all plays to remind people about the place of Fela in history. This aspect of it was indeed the biggest turning point in his career, in his social and political life and commentary on the issues that affected the larger society."

As for Mallam Kabir Yusuf, the General Manager of the National Theatre, the series was created to bring back life to the Theatre.

"It is instructive to start with big theatre issues in the life of the nation. And this is why we have made the Theatre environment conducive for all." This is the kind of show that will be happening at the end of every month as part of returning live theatre back to the society.

With the stage background replete with some outstanding headlines on Fela during his heyday, the stage was indeed remarkably set to welcome this epic show. It was an epic because it lampooned the society, it denounced idiocy, it pinpointed the numerous ills that plagued both the people and the government. And with the crop of seasoned artistes who watched it gave vent to it. It is the sort of play to keep the theatre ever aglow, busy and hopeful. Fela son of Kuti as a classical stage play that can serve a better purpose on the Broadway or given enough boost as a travelling play. It can be shown nationwide to give hope to people to envision the sufferings Fela endured for humanity.

reward. Diala's article "Colonial Mimicry and Postcolonial Remembering in Isidore Okpe who's Call Me by My Rightful Name" was adjudged winner from seven entries.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Science are two of Nigeria LNG Limited's numerous projects aimed at helping to build a better Nigeria.

According to Professor Ayo Banjo, the Chairman of the Advisory Board of NLNG Literature Prize; "The plays from which the wining entry was drawn are: Oduduwa King of the Edosby Jude Idada, Iredi War by Sam Ukala and Alekwu Night Dance by Friday John Abba.

"Oduduwa King of the Edosis a historical play that deals with the oral history and cultural tradition of the Yoruba and Edo peoples of Nigeria.

"Iredi War addresses the socio-political history of Owa Kingdom and the imperialistic tendencies of the colonoalists at the beginning of the 20th century.

"Alekwu Night Dance is a play that explores the crime, deception and desire for vengeance in Idoma community of Benue State, Nigeria.

"In addition to the recommendation of the Panel of Judges, the Advisory Board also received in a report, the independent opinion of the International Consultant Prof.MzoSirayi of Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa."

Abe becomes director of Abuja Carnival

T

HE federal government has announced the appointment of Mr. Biodun Abe as the new director of Abuja Carnival. The appointment which was made during the week is with immediate effect.

Abe, a deputy director with the National Theatre, Iganmu Lagos, was until his appointment in charge of events and management at the Theatre.

A consummate artiste, designer and dramatist, he studied Performing Arts at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State and Creative Arts at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos.

He was once the president National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP).

It was a position he held for several years during which he uplifted the standard of stage theatre in Nigeria. He also empowered young artistes to find fulfillment in the profession.

A professional stage designer, he is known for his classical and exceptional stage designs and lighting which cut across all genres of the stage.

He had in the past designed Abuja Carnival floats for some participating states some of whom used the floats to emerge winners in various categories.

With his appointment, Abe is entrusted with the responsibility to re-jig, fine-tune, and rework the Abuja Carnival which in recent times had lost its original thrust, flavour, direction and beauty.

The carnival was begun about 10 years ago by the federal government to lubricate and showcase tourism in Nigeria and probably attract other people and tourists to come and savour the aura of Abuja city. The Carnival is usually held last week of every November.

•Abe

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

67

With Adeola Ogunlade 08083127847

Hello kids, How was your week? Hope you had a splendid holiday As you resume the new session, set new goals, new target and work hard at it and with God on your side this session will be the best ever for you.

Opportunities for youth

M

ASTERCARD Foundation scholarship is Programme for Africans.

The MasterCard Foundation is partnering with over 10 recognized universities and higher institutions around the world to offer the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program, a $500 million education initiative that will provide talented yet economically disadvantaged students from developing countries, particularly from Africa,– with comprehensive

H

support for secondary and university education. The scholarship will be offered to 15,000 African Students for a period of 10 years.

The vision o the Mastercard Foundation scholar programe is to educate and develope academically qualified yet economically disadvantage young people in Africa who will contribute to the transformation of the continent. Citizens of sub sahara Africans The Scholarship programme is designed to provide students with holistic support

including financial support for fees, uniforms, books and supplies, transportation, accommodation and stipends.

Universities we selected for their commitments to academic excellence, nurturing environments and programme relevant to growth sectors in Africa, such as manufacturing, telecommunication, banking and agriculture Other details about the schools, eligibility and applications can be found at www.mastercardfdscholars.org.

Back to School

ELLO children, Holliday is over.

It is now time to resume the new session. I know for many of you, this holiday is long, no thanks to the Ebola Virus that led to the extension of your resumption date. It is for your good. Don't worry about Ebola virus, I am sure that your school would have prepared adequately to make the school environment suitable for you.

As you resume the new ses-

sion, the routine of waking up very early, washing you school uniform, waiting for school bus and possibly trekking a distance to school has began. To help you ease back to schools, there are tips you need to take into consideration for you to a successful new academic session: 1) Start to practice the act of waking up early and getting dressed at the same time every morning 2) Prepare your books, uniforms, bags, socks, shoes intact as

you resume 3) If you can, tell your parents or guardian to buy you a wristwatch for you to be able to manage your time 4) Write down the needto-know info to help you remember details such as your locker combination, what time classes and lunch start and end, teachers' and/or bus drivers' names.

5) tudy your school environment and be security conscious.

•Winners of the Creative Kids Fight Malaria’ Art Contest organised by Exxonmobil Producing Nigeria held recently at the Yusuf Grillo Hall, Department of Arts & Design, Yaba College of Technology

POEMS When I born, I black When I grow up, I black When I go in Sun, I black When I scared, I black When I sick, I black And when I die, I still black And you white fellow When you born, you pink When you grow up, you white When you go in sun, you red When you cold, you blue When you scared, you yellow When you sick, you green And when you die, you gray And you calling me colored

CAREER TIPS

What you need to know International Relations

C

HILDREN, am aware that a number of young people are thinking through about making career choices. This is important and I want to be with you as I expose to you every week about the various career path you can take. I promise you is going to be educative and interactive. Your feedback is very paramount.

This week, we are looking at International relation. It is a laudable career that is unique, and is quite prevalent in today’s world. As the world continue to build bridges that often times most divides us, the need for sound and effective international relation experts is needed.

According to career.anwser.com, a person who works in international relations routinely converses with someone from Europe in the morning and ends their day speaking with a colleague in Asia. International relations most commonly occurs in business, and positions in

this field are often awarded to those individuals who speak multiple languages, are able to travel and live abroad for a long or short time, and have traveled to many places without the risk of culture shock.

Where you can work?

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Embassies Multinational companies International Organisation/NGOs •United Nation, Africa Union, European Union, World Bank etc.

Entry qualification Minimum Bachelor degree Efficiency in foreign language skills-English, French, Spanish, among others Excellent writing ability Have interest in learning about different people of different cultural or ethnic background Mediation skills would be an added advantage Multi-tasking Ability to work alone, and with groups.

RIDDLES

Send in your stories, poems, articles, games, puzzles, riddles and jokes to sundaynation@yahoo.com

•WHAT has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?

•What is the easiest way to double your money?

•What has a thumb and four fingers but is not alive?

•What has to be broken before you can use it?

•What has a neck but no head?

• What gets wetter as it dries?

•What goes up and doesn’t come back down?

•What belongs to you but

is used more by others?

•Everyone has it and no one can lose it, what is it?

•It’s been around for millions of years, but it’s no more than a month old. What is it?

Please send in the answer to these questions and you stand a chance of winning prices. send your name, and the name of the school and class to: sundaynation@yahoo.com or adeolaogunlade2010@yahoo.com.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

68

EBERE WABARA

WORDSWORTH 08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

‘Tear gas’ not verb

V

ANGUARD of October 7 circulated seven blunders: “Atiku commissions (inaugurates) Ekiti’s 300-bed hospital, asks voters to shun PDP in 2015" “Lawyers, judges pay last respect (respects) to late Justice Adio” Yank off ‘late’ for obvious reasons “FG to fast track (fasttrack) oil communities’ development” “…the economic potentials (potential or potentialities) of the abundant natural resources” “Why Toyota dominates Nigeria (Nigerian) roads” “Police shifts ban on use of motorcycles” A rewrite: Police extend ban on motorbike usage” “NNPC raises alarm (the alarm) over fake letter of authorisation” “Amosun’s wife flags (kicks) off Ogun community health scheme” THE NATION ON SUNDAY of October 5 comes next: “…takes a look at the fortunes of the emerging business conglomerate vis-à-vis its strengths, potentials and weakness.” Again, ‘potential’ is uncountable, but ‘potentialities’ (THE GUARDIAN INTERVIEW Page of October 2 contained this same blunder).

“There were no furnitures and the entire premises were in a derelict state.” Politics: it is unfortunate that an AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice from the South East does not know that ‘furniture’ cannot be inflected!

“Few (‘A few’ because of context) days ago….” “…all stakeholders in an all night (all-night) meeting at the Hilton, Abuja.” “…the decision to tow (toe) a different political part from his.”

Lastly from THE NATION under review: “Japan to invest N2.8b on (in) health, education” THE GUARDIAN Editorial Page of October 2 takes over from THE NATION ON SUNDAY: “The losers in these (this) façade are the….”

“Firm launches campaign to sensitise public on (to)) chemicals” “IPI condoled his family….” The institute condoled with his family or consoled his family “The capacity of women to raise funds for recognition have been further….”

The capacity…has’.

“The human greed has now reached its highest

peak.” This amounts to tormenting functional items. ‘Peak’ abhors any intensification.

“The Senegal summit was an important landmark enroute (sic) the fourth world women conference in Beijing, China.”

Two things are wrong in the preceding sentence: do we have an ‘unimportant’ landmark? And ‘enroute the…’ Standard register: ‘en route to or for…’ And ‘en route from.….’ ‘En route’ is a French phrase which means ‘on the way’.

“Picturesque Tinubu Square, the business hub of the city will be revived back to its glory.” Why do we like being severe on words? ‘Revive’ can’t accommodate ‘back’ (or ‘front’) glorification.

“The perspective is neither alarmist or fantastic.”

It seems some writers don’t give a damn about grammatical inappropriateness. If they do, they won’t scribble ‘neither… or’ in place of ‘neither….nor’ (either…or).

“The individual common man has little access to the press, so the injustices the common man suffers atimes do not merit media attention.” (SUNDAY VANGUARD, October 5) ‘Atimes’ is Nigerian English. Standard expression: ‘at times’.

“He had defiled (defied) all odds at the end of the Nigerian Civil War….”

“These kind of write-ups drive journalism into irrelevance.” Correct form: This kind of or these kinds of.…

“Since such may not come into reality.” Right expression: “Since such may not come to reality.”

“The budget planned originally to be a surplus usually result into a huge deficit.” Approved form: result in.

“Definitely, the wounds which the recent political crisis have distributed across the nation… “ It is not ‘the wounds’ that should determine the verb to be used here, but ‘crisis’ (singular) or ‘crises’ (plural).

“Formulation of past budgets have more often been hailed but their implementation….” Concord problem in an editorial: ‘Formulation…have….’?

Gentlemen, I am blushed.

“The top flight accountant assured that if the government can provide the pensioners with good things (comma, please) there will be minimal of

embezzlement and its….”

(NIGERIAN TIDE, October 10) ‘Minimal embezzlement’, please. “…with a view to meeting (sic) out appropriate sanctions on all those found to have been involved in any way.” The (formal) phrasal verb is ‘meting out to’ (not ‘on’).

“Israel moves to diffuse tension with Egypt” Who is the sub-editor diffusing illiteracy? Let us always distinguish between ‘diffuse’ and ‘defuse’.

“At a stage, the total of 23 presidential aspirants that sought for power under the platform of all the parties....” I seek grammatical power on the platform….

“All through our long years under colonialism, the cost of books and other materials were never beyond the reach…” ‘Cost’ is what should inform the verb used here; not ‘books and other materials’.

“Among items destroyed were textile materials, jewelleries, television and radio sets….”

‘Jewellery’: plural unchanged.

“Nigerians pay last respect to Dimgba Igwe” ‘Last respects’, please.

FEEDBACK MR. Kola Danisa (07068074257) contributed the next two extracts: “Has there been a change of mind by the APC or is the Comrade warming (worming) his way to the PDP….”

The phrase ‘sticking point’—not ‘sticky point’— is grammatically correct.

‘Tear gas’ is a noun, not a verb.

FROM the columnist: I thank Elder Danisa for his telephonic admonition/ counsel/chastisement/rebuke/reprimand (choose one!) on the need for me to be more forensically clinical as much as possible before going to press having corrected the preceding paragraph a long time ago only to inadvertently allow the same slips uncorrected last week! Is it printer’s devil, slip-shoddiness, ancestral/generational language witchcraft, amnesia or mid-age senility? This is certainly not ignorance. Whatever it is, I take therapeutic responsibility and apologise.

“Get on (in) a taxi.”

CONDOLENCES MAY the gentle souls of Dimgba Igwe, Mike Akpan, Remi Oyo and Nnate Amogu—all of the pen fraternity—rest in peace. Sleep well!

Continued from Page 18 against the glorified town it used to be. The cris-cross of roads in the landscape of the states are projects to behold that can be a pride to the ruling party.

In the area of education, where he declared a state of emergency is beginning to yield fruits. The dilapidated and abandoned school structures have been given a facelift, while new structures have been constructed and completed to complement the old.

It is heartwarming to state that parents who could not afford their children the right of higher education are beaming with smiles as thousands of Bayelsa students are enjoying the state government policy of foreign scholarship, payment of bursary and free education at the primary and post primary schools level.

Above all the strategic efforts of Governor Dickson, enthroning peace, security and stability in the state remain an ever shining testimony of the administration. This is possible as a result of running an open and all inclusive government. It is against this background, offering him the right of first refusal will go a long way to consolidate on the existing peace and stability as well as infrastructure development in the state in general.

It is the hope of vast majority of the people of Bayelsa State that the right of first refusal must trickle down to the state. They are enthusiastic to have a feel of the action as it is a new done in the nation's polity. The sincerity and commitment of the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party at entrenching this new political order will soon be put to litmus test in the 2015/ 2016 gubernatorial re-election of Governor Dickson.

With the increasing political consciousness in the nook and crannies of the country, any attempt at changing this much celebrated precedent will cast serious dark spot on the values and ideology of what the party represents, not only in Nigeria but in the entire comity of democratic nations.

This is where the leadership of the party must resist all the political landmines that some people may lay for their selfish reasons, who believe that it is their birthright to produce a governor or elected as governor without any regard for the sanctity of party rules and conventions.

As a matter of fact, the recent

Right of first refusal and 2015 Bayelsa guber election

• Dickson press statement from the WADATA HOUSE, National Secretariat of the PDP restraining state chapters of the party from endorsing gubernatorial aspirants is a step in the right direction. But the case of sitting governors is different. Any body extending the restrain to sitting governors do not mean well for the party.

If this is allowed to happen, it will cause further minus on the democratic credentials of a party that calls itself the largest democracy in Africa. Already, the world is watching with keen interest almost with the eye of an eagle about developments in Nigeria, especially with the conduct of the 2015 general elections.

Democracy according to John Dewey, "Is an attitude of the mind".

This is the time the party must let charity begin at home by ensuring that the right of first refusal which has become the PDP political canon of promoting cohesion should remain sacrosanct.

As a matter of fact, the PDP as a corporate entity, the "Right of first refusal" should be enshrined in the constitution of the party. However, it may be

limited to only the Chief Executives of the two tiers of government. This will avoid the floodgate of demands and abuse of the system. Already, there is a laughable emerging scenario where legislators at the National and state levels and even ordinary councilors are demanding for "right of first refusal".

For chairmen of local government councils, they cannot benefit from the arrangement because their claim as a third tier of government is an aberration which exists only in principle and not in practice in Nigeria.

There is no where in the world local government administration constitutes third tier of government in a federal arrangement. Even the recent past National Conference recommendations attest to this fact.

The right of first refusal as political culture has come to stay and we hope that the rule shall not be bent to suit the whims and caprices of inordinate political power seekers. And there lies the honour for democratic ethos and the enthronement of a party truly for the ordinary Nigerians.

Imperative of professionalising Nigerian Civil Service (2) Continued from Page 18 a strategic framework that goes beyond mere people management to coordinating HR practices and policies with the need and requirements of the organisation itself. The strategic human resource manager therefore becomes essentially an architect who confronts the pathology of HR practices in the NCS. This pathology manifests in three regards: One is the centrally determined statutory employment conditions. This system requires strict compliance with rules and regulations with minimum discretion delegation to line managers.

The second impediment arises from central governance using the instrument of circulars that promotes the tendency to push a 'one-model-fits-all' administrative tradition. The third is the general tendency to regard personnel administration function as a

mechanical task requiring lowskills generalist competencies.

Several suggestions follow the imperative of strategic HRM in the NCS. First: managers will grow to depend more on HR professionals who in turn will be concerned with recruiting competent staff and dealing with the incompetent as well as instituting multidisciplinary consulting. Second: Job design will involve a dynamic linkage between value of job, compensation and productivity. Three: Workforce development orientation will include training and reprofessionalization schemes.

This will provide the opportunity to shift from a resource- to a knowledge-based framework for the workforce.

Four: Newly professionalised HRM departments' remit must be expanded from current largely administrative and clerical support to MDAs to become special expert hubs and advisory units for developing

and maintaining HR policies and for integrating development strategy and government business with praxis and long-term vision and plans. Finally: to improve productivity and performance, there would have to be the injection of market conditions to staffing and remuneration in a manner that facilitates healthy competition, retention of the best staff and enable better talent management.

Strategic HRM constitutes the turning point at which we either step into the future or we stay in the present. It is certain however that we cannot remain hesitant forever. The Nigerian Civil Service of the Future need to overcome its tentativeness; it cannot remain within the Hamlet trap if it must transit to that future.

• Olaopa is Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Abuja

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

INTERVIEW

'My life as commissioner and pastor'

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OW do you combine life as a commissioner, pastor and family man?

It takes the grace of God to be able to balance all these.

I believe that God never gives us a calling that He does not equip us for. Part of it is the fact that He gives us that ability to match all these.

God, in His infinite wisdom, knows that we need only 24 hours a day to do this and that is why he gave us 24 hours to do all these. You have to then find the wisdom to utilise those 24 hours in a manner that enables you do all that you have to do. And the reality is that you would find surprisingly that there are enough hours in 24 hours to do whatever you have to do.

If you are under pressure, you manage your time more efficiently. For instance, I don't have time left for frivolities. Unfortunately, my time for social engagement is reduced. I have three brothers living in this city but I haven't been to one of my brothers in two years, not out of quarrel but because of time.

The other two, the reason I have visited them recently is because their wives had children and it became imperative and I had to find the time, even if it meant going at the dead of night to go and see them.

How do you relax with your busy schedule?

Many years ago, a friend of mine opened my eye to the fact that when it comes to relaxing and keeping fit, you don't try to find the time; you make the time. So, fixed into my itinerary is that every Monday night, I go to the Ikoyi club to play squash. It doesn't matter how late.

Sometimes, when we finish councils meeting, as late as 10pm, I show up there.

Fortunately, the cleaners

Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Ben Akabueze is also the Pastorin- Charge of Redeemed Christian Church Lagos province 39 comprising 117 parishes in Epe and environs. He spoke with Yetunde Oladeinde on life as a commissioner as well as taxation in relations with churches and other faith-based organisations. Excerpts: who work in the squash section know how to play squash. If it is too late and the members have all gone, they will be waiting for me.

We play till whenever and I go home.

This month you will be dedicating a new building for Kings Court. What does the edifice mean to you?

RCCG has about 32,000 parishes all over Nigeria. It is normal to be transferred from one parish to another.

So in 2007, I got transferred from City of David to Kings Court. It happened that at that point Kings Court was operating at a rented apartment in Olosa Street at the Victoria Island.

In June 2008, we began construction of our own place and by the grace of God we are nearing completion and this is the structure that will be dedicated.

What is the estimated cost of the building?

It cost a lot of money is all I can say. We believe that our God is the maker and processor of the heaven and the earth. He owns all the money and so no amount of money that you spend on a place can be too much. In any case, He makes it known that He doesn't live in buildings but we do that simply to glorify Him. If you ask me to tell you down to the last kobo, we haven't checked the records.

We were driven by a vision

•Akabueze

in first Chronicles 22: 5.

It was simply a privilege that we can build a house exceedingly magnificent. It is on a 12- floor in the Business district and part of the floor will be rented out to generate funds for other things. This is to glorify God; it is not just

a church building. As far as we know, it is the only one owned by a church in the heart of Victoria Island.

It is therefore connected to the vision of God for the church. The church is supposed to affect the business community and

when we take about church, it's not the building, it's the people. That is why it is a congregation comprising mostly professionals and business people. They should radiate with the spirit of excellence. That was what the building is meant to symbolise.

Beyond that, it is a place where people in the area will have their spiritual needs met. For those who can't get to their neighborhood because of traffic, it is also a place where they can worship. There is also a corporate fellowship in the neighborhood; they do not have a place and they have opened the doors for them.

On one of the floors is a facility. The bible school is also available here. There are people who work and can't attend Bible College and this would offer the college at flexible hours to meet there needs. In that property, we will have an audio video recording studio for young gospel talents to develop themselves.

What is your position on taxation and the church?

Every other Sunday, we serve free 2,000 meals at the Ikoyi prison, which the church finances. The church in the little times that we have been in the area has lightened up the streets.

Several times our members get up to clean up the streets and we are now arranging repairing portions of the

broken road.

The fact that you generate does not mean that you make profits that are taxable. We fund a school in Epe where children go to and pay a token like N2, 000 a year. We have a medical centre in Epe for women to give birth and it is free. All of these are funded by the Lagos Province 39.

Our immediate environment has its own need. Around us we have the challenges of young ladies who prostitute.

Consequently, we run a 32bed resettlement home for them. Any of them willing to leave the street will be taken into this facility. There are five of them in different schools currently that we pay for.

As long as they are willing to remain in school, we pull them through to the university. The ones that prefer to learn trade, we put through skills and establish their businesses.

Unfortunately in Nigeria someone would drop an issue that becomes topical and some people start parroting it without taking a deeper look at it.

The other question is should employees of the church pay tax when they generate income? Yes, absolutely. Any of our staff who earns income will deduct and remit. You will recall that Pastor Adeboye was one of the proponents in the Lagos revenue campaign.

NEWS

Why churches need good governance, by Adeyemi, Adefarasin

T

HE church has been discredited because of lack of good governance and accountability in its operations.

This was the consensus last week in Lagos at the first annual conference and membership induction of the Church Administrator Society of Nigeria (CASON).

The Senior Pastor of Day Star Christian Centre, Sam Adeyemi, lamented that the devil has capitalised on lack of good governance to discredit the church.

In his goodwill message to the conference, Adeyemi said: "One of the tools that the devil has used to discredit the church is lack of accountability and good governance.

"When the church wakes up, the society will change

By Sunday Oguntola

because what politicians see among us is what they reproduce in national leadership."

He called for establishment of systems that will checkmate excesses and abuses in church.

Without these systems in place, Adeyemi said churches

will never function well.

The keynote speaker, Pastor Wale Adefarasin, said the time was past when church leaders will claim they are accountable only to God.

According to the former National Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), churches must be willing to be

Akinosun to FG: declare emergency on unemployment

P

OLITICAL office holders should declare a state of economic emergency with a view to creating jobs for the army of unemployed youths.

This was the submission of the President of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide, Pastor Abraham Akinosun, at a briefing to close the 2014 pastors' conference of the church recently.

Speaking on the theme of conference giving to receive from God, Akinosun told

reporters at the Babalola International Miracle Camp, Ikeji Arakeji, Osun State that Nigeria is facing security, political and social challenges because of the inability of various governments to meet the needs of the people.

According to him: "Our universities are churning out graduates every year in their hundreds of thousands without job openings to absorb them.

"This is a time-bomb waiting to explode. But we can prevent this explosion if

government declares a state of economic emergency in order to create jobs for the unemployed."

He advised politicians to embark on deliberate and concerted efforts to reverse the trend before it is too late.

To reverse the trend, he suggested that government should liberalise award of contracts, embark on massive agricultural production by acquiring lands for farming in all states of the federation, institutionalise social security for the unemployed and

encourage local production of goods.

On the CAC crisis, he said the GEC, which is the authentic authority in the affairs of the church, has been extending its hand of fellowship to their brothers in the other camps to return to the fold.

He added that those from their camps who returned to the fold were recently reordained by the mainstream of the church, assuring that whoever returns to the fold will be accommodated without discrimination.

transparent in their operations, especially financial dealings.

On the directive by government on churches and religious organisations to submit their financial accounts, Adefarasin said it was in order.

He said churches must comply to prove they have nothing to hide.

While encouraging churches to file their financial reports, Adefarasin said: "Even if the government decides to witchunt us with the financial details, they still won't find anything against us."

He attributed the undue attention on churches to lack of moderation and crass materialism.

Church leaders, he said, should take the lead in moderation and simplicity.

70

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

WORSHIP

COLUMN

Living Faith

By Dr. David Oyedepo •L-R: Bishop, Diocese of Remo, Rt. Revd. (Dr.) Olusina Fape; Communicator, Diocese of Ifo, Mr. Idowu Sowunmi; Bishop, Diocese of Egba, Rt. Revd. Emmanuel Adekunle; and Bishop, Diocese of Egba West, Rt. Revd. Samuel Ogundeji during the Council Meeting of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos held at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Okenla in Ifo, Ogun State

W

HAT should matter to a Christian in life? His career, his prosperity, his political connections, even, should it be his family, or Christ? What should matter to a Christian?

2 Cor. 5: 15 provides an answer to the question. "And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."

On the cross, there was an exchange. Christ gives you His life in exchange for yours.

From the moment you accept Christ, your life ceases to be yours. Your career, friends, connections, aspirations, ambitions, goals, all should disappear. Only one thing should matter, the interests of the Lord.

Therefore, it is next to impossible for a Christian to be politically correct. There is no middle path. You are either a Christian carrying the cross or you are not a Christian at all, as far as heaven is concerned. You see, the cross represents three things: shame, suffering and death. A true Christian takes a stand for Christ even against his personal interest and he will refuse to budge.

It is because we have lost Christianity that we have Christians who are politically correct. This group of Christians (unfortunately they are in the majority in the church) will keep quiet in the face of corruption, they will apply "wisdom" rather than confront evil and will apply logic rather than righteousness.

How did the Nigerian church get to this point?

We came so low because we embraced Christian nominalism. As pointed out earlier, in the past twenty years, or more, the Nigerian church has not been raising disciples. What has it been doing? It has been raising nominal Christians. These are Christians who will identify with Christ when things are all right but once being Christ-like threatens personal interest and ambition Christ takes the back seat immediately. The challenge facing the Nigerian church, primarily, is not overcoming the Islamic Agenda, but raising committed disciples.

What we lack in the church are Christians committed to Christ.

George Barna conducted a research on Christian response to the truth and discovered that only 14 percent Christian adults believe in absolute truth. The remaining 86 percent of Christians believe in relative truth. Whenever truth would produce opposition or rejection, they abandon the

Political correctness and the burden of the cross

By Pastor Bosun Emmanuel

truth. Whenever speaking the truth would affect promotion, personal interest or make them unpopular, they would abandon the truth.

Why is corruption galloping in Nigeria? It is because Christians in high places do not believe in absolute truth. What happened to extra - budgetary allocation in the government ministries?

Ask the Christians in the civil service.

Christian nominalism is responsible for our inability to raise missionaries, fund missions, fight corruption and evil in the land, evangelise and it manifested most horribly recently in the collective indifference of the mainstream churches in Nigeria to the plight of the persecuted Christians in the North. Almost every Christian in the South just looked the other way and continued life as usual. "So long as it has not affected us, it is none of our business". This is Christian nominalism.

It is manifesting now as political correctness. The facts on the ground were completely ignored. The reality of the situation was ignored because people believed that their personal interests should be protected.

It is Christian nominalism that produces secular humanism in the church. You listen to people talk about serious issues that affect Christianity and you wonder if the person speaking is a Christian. They will apply logic, philosophy, psychology, sociology, science, politics, but they will not speak Christ. It is secular humanism that is the bane of the European church and cathedrals are being converted to clubs.

THE APPREHENSION If God had not spoken, one would not have been worried.

But, God spoke clearly and we see that what He said is coming to pass. God said: "If care is not taken, in 30 40 years, Nigeria will be like Turkey" - God, Sept. 14, 2013 When God instructed Prof.

Anigbogu to study what led to the collapse of the church in Constantinople, one the factors that the learned Professor discovered is: "The weapon used to destroy Constantinople was invented by a Christian".

Let us look carefully at what is on the ground in the Nigerian church today. It is an exact replica of what happened in Constantinople. Christians are supplying the weapon that the enemies of the cross of Christ are using.

Today, battles are not fought primarily with cannons but with information because we live in an information age. That is the primary reason why God sent someone to provide the church with information and what is being fought vehemently is that information. The game plan is to discredit the information and render it ineffective.

Unfortunately, Christian nominalism is helping to dilute the information thereby, strengthening those who are opposed to Christ and to His kingdom.

Today, the messenger is being castigated, derided, abused and lambasted. All in an attempt to discredit the information that is meant to wake the church. Those in the forefront are Christians. A Christian senator sent me an email and started by saying, "I am greatly ashamed of you".

Why is he ashamed? Because I am not politically correct.

Come to think of it, which messenger of God has not been treated in this manner?

Is it Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Moses, even Jesus Christ our Lord Himself. The virulent attack is actually the confirmation that the message came from God. If it came from the world, no one would oppose it.

THE WAY OUT Please, consider this portion as an appeal. We must pray and seek the face of God. Let the remnant church arise and intercede for a backslidden church and a confused nation.

The Christian Association of Nigeria has proclaimed 3day National Repentance and National Re-dedication from 17th - 19th October.

I wish to encourage all Christians in Nigeria to participate and more importantly, spread the information and persuade all Christian assemblies to observe it.

I pray that Christian nominalism will not destroy the church of Christ in Nigeria.

For those who might still be under the impression that one is crying wolf, when there is none, please consider the map below. This is how ISIS sees the world as from 2019.

As far as radical Muslims are concerned, in five years time, there would be no trace of Christianity in Nigeria. God is even more generous. He gave us an ultimatum of thirty years.

So, shall we continue to be politically correct, thinking it would save our faith?

Encounter with Destiny from His Book! (2)

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ELCOME to your regular column. Last week, I started this teaching series by identifying the first picture of what we are from scriptures. I said we are first and foremost, as children of God, redeemed as Spiritual Eagle. Let us now examine the features of an eagle and sync it with the Spiritual Eagle, which is what we are His children.

What does it take to manifest as an eagle?

Based on the characteristics of eagles, let's look at how to manifest our Eagle root.

"The eagle has a unique strength developed through rigorous exercises: Through the unusual strength of the eagle, it has the ability to pick up any prey three times its weight.

Concerning us as spiritual eagles, the Bible says that those who do know their God shall be strong and they shall do exploits. But, where is this strength coming from?

According to scriptures, A wise man is strong, ye a man of knowledge increaseth strength (Proverbs 24:5). (See also Daniel 11:32).

This means that we build strength by knowledge (insight and revelation). We don't manifest as eagles by wishing, but by aligning with the rigorous exercises of searching the Word and other anointed materials, in order to build strength against the day of adversity. Therefore, the more insight we encounter from the Word, the more strength we gather to defeat our adversaries (Proverbs 24:10).

"The eagle is a highly disciplined bird: Once every year, the eagle goes to the

mountain and settles down for forty days to shed its old feathers and grow new ones in preparation for the next year's flight.

Concerning us as spiritual eagles, the Bible says: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

When the 'Eagle Moses' came, he waited on the mountain 40 days three times. Jesus came after the order of Moses the eagle and He also waited 40 days. We are coming after Jesus' order and He said, "As My Father has sent Me, even so send I you."

Therefore, as spiritual eagles, we must be willing to pay the price of rigorous exercises (fasting), for the eagle in us to come alive (1 Timothy 4:8).

"The eagle is a highly visionary bird: Eagles see beyond the moment. We are told that an eagle can sight any threat to her eggs in the nest five miles away. Similarly, it was said about David that he being a prophet knew afar off. To be farsighted as spiritual eagles, we must engage in untiring exploration in the Word (Deuteronomy 32:10/12, Acts 2:30).

"The eagle is explorative: I remember going to the mountain and asking the Lord to show me the secret behind the book of Ezekiel. I also remember engaging in a long fast to access the secret behind the Acts of the Apostles.

As spiritual eagles therefore, we must not just study the Word, but explore the treasures hidden therein, which determines our placement in destiny

(Deuteronomy 32:13).

"Its flight is guided by the direction of the wind: The eagle waits on the mountaintop to study the direction of the wind before embarking on its flight.

As the wind blows, it spreads its wings and flies to its destination. As a result, the eagle is free from struggles by following the direction of the wind.

We understand from scriptures that the wind is the Holy Spirit and every child of God is entitled to the leading of the Holy Spirit; for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Romans 8:14, John 10:27, Revelation 1:10, 1 Corinthians 2:14).

Every eagle-believer must therefore, be one that is led by the Lord, because in the midst of the desert, by His leading, we continually experience a gushing. (See Isaiah 48:21, Deuteronomy 32:10, 12/ Deuteronomy 18:15; Numbers 11:14, Exodus 19:4, Acts 3:21-22, John 5:30).

I shall continue this teaching next week.

Friend, the grace to encounter destiny through His Book is freely available to the redeemed. You become a child of God, by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. You can be God's child now, by saying this prayer: "Lord Jesus, I come to You today.

I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour.

Thank You, for saving me! Now, I know I am born again!"

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get my books: Walking in Wisdom, Ruling Your World, Commanding The Supernatural, and Operating The Supernatural.

I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners.

We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. respectively.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

NEWS

Nigeria's future is bright-American evangelist

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HE future of Nigeria is bright, American evangelist, Rev. Mike Moore, has declared.

He spoke ahead of the annual Camp meeting programmes of Christ Chapel International Churches(CCIC) in Lagos from October 14-19 where he is expected to minister.

Reverend Mike Moore has predicted that in spite of what would appear as setbacks, the year 2014 will turn out to be a good year for the country and its people.

Asked what he has for Nigeria, Moore stated: "The

special Word for the people of Nigeria this year is that the power of the Holy Ghost is able to perform in any nation and in any crisis or condition and display God's great grace has never has been seen before (for Nigeria). This is your year."

The preacher reputed for his versatility on the saxophone and healing anointing assured that camp meeting provides an opportunity for Nigeria to be blessed like never before.

Mike Moore will be ministering on the subject of the Great Grace of God alongside other equally

anointed men of God both local and foreign during the six days of Campmeeting 2014.

Others who will be ministering include: Reverend Clyde Oliver from the USA; respected Ghanaian motivational speaker, Dr. Mensa Otabil and acclaimed televangelist, Apostle O.S.A Aiyemo.

They will also be joined by founder of the Covenant Christian Centre, Poju Oyemade; Reverend Solomon Adebara who presides over Fountain of Grace Ministries Ibadan and Bosun Oke. The host is Dr. Tunde Joda.

CAN mobilises prayers for peace, transformation

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HE Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has announced a three-day fasting and prayer service for national repentance and rededication to God. The exercise holds from Friday 17th-Sunday 19, October across the nation.

A statement by the chairman of the body in the South West, Archbishop Magnus Atilade, stated that all Christians are expected to converge at Hoares Memorial Methodist Cathedral Yaba Lagos on Sunday 19 October from 3pm-5pm.

Some of the prayer points, according to him, include end to killing and insurgency, deliverance of persecuted Christians, good governance and violencefree 2015 general elections, among others.

The preacher is the Prelate of Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr Samuel Uche.

Oddities

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014 IS jihadists execute four women in Iraq

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HE Islamic State group has executed at least four women, including two doctors and a politician, in their northern Iraq strongholds this month, relatives and rights activists said yesterday.

In the IS hub of Mosul, the jihadists executed three women on Wednesday including two doctors, HanaaEdwar, a human rights activist who heads the Al-Amal organisation, said.

A medical source in Mosul confirmed their deaths and named the two doctors as MahaSabhan and Lamia Ismail.

The third woman was a law graduate.

On October 5, Iman Mohammed Yunus, a former Sunni parliamentarian from the Iraq Turkmen Front in the city of Tal Afar, farther west towards the Syrian border, was also executed.

"They took her from her home last month and called her family this week to say that she had been executed," said Ali alBayati, who runs a foundation supporting the rights of Iraq's Turkmen minority.

"Then they dumped her body in a water well outside Tal Afar," he said.

According to Edwar, who confirmed Yunus' execution, at least four other women were executed by IS militants in the Mosul area in recent weeks.

Hong Kong protesters petition Chinese President Xi

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TUDENTS leading prodemocracy protests in Hong Kong issued an open letter yesterday to Chinese President Xi Jinping, urging him to consider political reforms in the city and blaming the city's unpopular leader for the demonstrations.

The letter, issued by two student groups leading the protests, said Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying was responsible for a civil disobedience campaign that has seen tens of thousands of people throng the semiautonomous city's key thoroughfares over the past two weeks.

Thousands of demonstrators showed up in the main protest zone yesterday, two days after Hong Kong's government called off scheduled negotiations with students who are demanding voters have a greater say in choosing the city's leader in 2017 elections.

"Students walked out of classes and are occupying different places now because Leung and others have repeatedly ignored what the people want," the letter read. "If the central government is confident, it should not be afraid to let Hong Kong people elect their own chief executive."

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Friday that he was confident Hong Kong's government can preserve "social stability." He did not directly mention the protests, but stressed that Beijing won't change its "one country, two systems" approach to running Hong Kong.

Ban Ki-moon arrives for talks in Libya's capital

Ebola: Three more people under observation in Spain U T

HREE more people were under observation for Ebola in a Madrid hospital, boosting the number being monitored for symptoms to 16. A nursing assistant infected with the virus remained in serious but stable condition yesterday.

The latest three are a nurse who came into contact with nursing assistant Teresa Romero, a hairdresser who attended to her and a hospital cleaner, all of whom were admitted to Madrid's Carlos III hospital late Friday.

A government statement yesterday said none of the 16 in quarantine, who include Romero's husband, five doctors and five nurses, have shown any symptoms.

Romero, 44, the first person known to have contracted the disease outside West Africa in the current outbreak, had cared for two Spanish priests who died of Ebola at the hospital, one in August and the other on Sept. 25.

At the hospital, some of those in quarantine on the fifth floor of the building could be seen leaning out of windows and giving victory signs to journalists below.

Thousands of people gathered in more than 20 cities throughout Spain to show their solidarity with Romero and to protest against how Madrid authorities had euthanized her pet dog named Excalibur on Wednesday instead of placing it in quarantine.

Some had painted Excalibur's name onto their faces and many carried placards saying "We are with you Teresa," ''You are not alone" and "We are all Excalibur," and called on Health Minister Ana Mato to resign.

State broadcaster TVE showed in its newscast an interview with Maria del Carmen Rellan, Romero's cousin, saying she had heard there had been a slight im-

• 41 UN staffers in Liberia under Ebola observation provement in the patient's condition.

The broadcaster also showed journalists asking Jesusa Ramos, Romero's mother, if her daughter was making any improvements.

"She seems to be," said Ramos, leaning out of a first floor window in her hometown of Becerrea in northwestern Spain.

Liberia’s United Nations peacekeeping mission has placed 41 staff members, including 20 military personnel, under “close medical observation” after an international member of its medical team was diagnosed with Ebola this week — the second mission member to test positive for the deadly disease.

“This measure is precautionary and meant to ensure no possible further transmission of the disease,” the mission said in a statement Friday. “None of the personnel who are contacts have shown any symptoms but will be observed for the full 21-day possible incubation period.”

The World Health Organization says 21 days is the maximum incubation period for Ebola, which is spread via the bodily fluids of infected people. The 41 staffers were identified as having possibly come into contact with the member of the medical team, whose name and nationality have not been disclosed.

The patient tested positive Monday and arrived in Germany Thursday for treatment — the third Ebola patient to be flown there. The St. Georg Hospital in Leipzig said this week the patient would be placed in a special isolation unit.

The first U.N. staffer in Liberia to come down with

Ebola died Sept. 26.

The mission is implementing additional measures to avoid more cases, including daily temperature checks and screening at a military facility where 209 people work, Friday’s statement said.

Liberia has recorded 2,316 confirmed, suspected and probable Ebola deaths — far more than any other country touched by the current

outbreak, according to the latest World Health Organization figures released Friday.

The outbreak has now killed more than 4,000 people in total, the WHO said.

More than 400 health care workers have contracted Ebola, and 233 of those have died, according to the WHO. Liberia and Sierra Leone have both recorded 95 health worker deaths.

20,000 Kurds protest against IS in Germany

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ORE than 20,000 Kurdish immigrants have protested in Germany against the Islamic State group.

Police said the demonstration yesterday in the western German city of Duesseldorf was peaceful with people marching through the city's downtown area and waving large Kurdish flags.

The protesters are seeking to draw attention to the Islamic State group's onslaught against the Kurdish town of Kobani in northern Syria.

Similar protests last week turned violent in some German cities when Kurds clashed with supporters of a hard-line Islamic movement.

Around 1 million Kurds live in Germany. Most of them immigrated in the 1960s when Germany was recruiting guest workers from Turkey.

•Michelle Bennett (C), ex-wife of former Haitian dictator JeanClaude Duvalier, receives condolences, while their son Francois Nicolas Duvalier (L) stands by his father's casket during a family ceremony at a chapel in Port-au-Prince yesterday. Duvalier, who died last week at age 63, was not granted a state funeral. AFP PHOTO/Hector RETAMAL

14 killed as violence rages north of Baghdad women among the dead, and

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RIENDLY fire on a military ambulance, a suicide attack at a market and a booby trap killed at least 14 people in a fresh day of violence north of Baghdad yesterday.

Four soldiers were killed near Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, when Shiite militiamen allied to the government sprayed gunfire on their ambulance, police said.

"The four soldiers were riding in an army ambulance when members of the popular brigades shot their vehicle on the main road near Mansuriyah, killing all of them," a police colonel said.

"They opened fire because they thought (the soldiers) were Islamic State fighters using the ambulance as a trick to attack their position," the officer said.

A doctor at Baquba general hospital confirmed the

toll.

The jihadist group holds huge quantities of vehicles, weapons and uniforms looted from the army, making it difficult for pro-government forces to tell them apart from their own camp.

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In Meshahda, just over 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the capital, a bomber set off his suicide vest in the middle of a market, killing at least seven people and wounding 25.

"There were at least two

Islamic State group kills Iraqi TV journalist

HE governor of Iraq's Salahuddin province says a journalist from a local television network has been killed by the Islamic State group.

Governor Raed Ibrahim says Raad al-Azzawi, who was a cameraman for Iraq's Salahuddin Television, was killed by militants on Friday in the city of Tikrit. Ibrahim said he wasn't able to provide any further details.

The Islamic State group, which holds large swaths of

.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Libya's capital Tripoli yesterday for talks with the country's warring factions fighting over control of the oil producer, in the highest-level visit of a foreign visitor for three months.

The top U.N. diplomat "will urge (the) Libyan parties to push forward with political dialogue to restore stability to (the) country," the United Nations said in a tweet.

Libya is struggling with two governments and two parliaments since an armed group from the western city of Misrata seized the capital in August, setting up its own cabinet and forcing the internationally recognized government to move to the east.

land stretching across the IraqSyria border, has beheaded a number of journalists in Syria, saying the killings are in retaliation to U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

Reporters Without Borders said last month that the militants had threatened to execute al-Azzawi, a father of three, for refusing to join the Sunni militant group.

The media watchdog said al-Azzawi was abducted on Sept. 7

several women and children among the wounded," a police colonel from neighbouring Tarmiyah told AFP. A doctor at Tarmiyah hospital confirmed the casualty figures.

Near Tikrit, the hometown of executed former president Saddam Hussein which is under IS control, three Shiite militiamen were killed in the explosion of a booby-trapped house.

According to an army captain and a doctor at Samarra hospital, the blast in Zalayah village also wounded nine people.

IS fighters rig roads and homes before withdrawing from areas they control, making it difficult for the army and allied groups to gain ground even after a military victory.

Five people killed in eastern Ukraine clashes

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HELLING in eastern Ukraine's rebel-held eastern regions killed five people over the past 24 hours, local authorities said yesterday, in the latest deadly violations of a ceasefire.

"As a result of military actions in Donetsk on October 10, three civilians died and four more were injured and hospitalised," said the mayor's office in Donetsk, the largest eastern city.

All but completely controlled by the pro-Russian separatists, Donetsk has come under increased crossfire in recent days as rebels and the Ukrainian army battle over its airport.

Another victim was an elderly man killed by a shell that hit his house near the town of Popasne in the Lugansk region, the pro-Kiev governor of the region, GennadiyMoskal, said on his website.

The Ukrainian army said yesterday that its positions had been attacked overnight in Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2014

WORLD NEWS

HE nobility of warfare is fiction. War has always been a horrid ordeal. Butchery, theft, pillage, rapine and death are the perennial certainties of war while the identity of which side may win the martial contestation is left to chance in most instances. No war occurs without wholesale crime conjoined to it.

The advent of modern warfare and the industries that manufacture war's sophisticated instrumentalities have not altered this fact.

Whether by knife or by drone, brutality is unleashed and asked to render its fullest demonstration.

Technology does not abnegate brutality; technology abets it by affecting it at a distance through modern weapons and by making it so widespread in this application that the brutality of superior military force becomes impersonal to us. A beheading appears savage because we all can empathize with the victim. The devastation of a village by bomb cast from afar is more difficult to feel. The bomb does its task so thorough that human remains meld with inanimate rubble. Scores are beheaded and dismembered in the blast. The explosion is so intense that it blinds you to the human destruction. Bone and board, flesh and mortar become one. No visible humanity remains over which to shed a tear. Yet, obliteration of innocents in this instance is more indiscriminate than a beheading can ever be. It is important to remember this point when assessing the moral claims of all the sides to the free-for-all that Syria has become.

It is also important to train our emotions and biases as much as possible when assessing what is happening. There are two postulates I seek to establish before continuing with the critique of the international war in Syria/Iraq.

First, ISIL has proven itself to be a vicious political movement, adroitly using Islam as its calling card; in truth, this group's behavior has little connection to Islam or any spiritual faith.

That a violent political movement attaches itself to a noble belief or idea is not unique. Maoist China and the Stalinist USSR travestied Marxism. Nineteenth century United States, with its enslavement of black skin and genocide against the red (Native American), represented neither the Christian nor democratic ideal although its leaders gasconaded these claims.

That ambitious actors in the Middle East would hitch their lusts for power and blood to the standard of Islam is predictable. To blame Islam for these depredations is to blame Jesus for the massacre of the American Indian and Europe's colonization of Africa. Clearly, violence ferments in the Middle East; many Muslims embrace it, ignorantly mistaking the xenophobic bloodletting for an element of their faith.

This violence is more the child of region's checkered history and the political culture born of this history than it is of the religion of the people. Again, no surprise. In most instances and places, culture trumps religion to the extent that culture masquerades as the truest religion for most people. Most people don't study the books of their faith; thus, they don't live its tenets. However, because one lives his culture he does not have to study to know it. Thus, many White American Christians dirt-washed their conscience into believing kidnapping and turning Africans into bondservants was a Christian act.

Second, most of us would rather live a society like present-day America than in the one lSIL seems intent to erect. However, that one society may internally be more conducive than another, does not give that society carte blanche to attack the harsher one. Such an attack is an act of war and instigation of war must accord with international precepts lest the fairer society become the more blemished one by reason of its self righteousness.

A part from the legal requirements, there is a moral hurdle. Ask the majority of Syrians now under ISIL dominion whether they would prefer living under ISIL control in peace or in war their answer would be neither. Some now long for the days when their only contention was with the harsh Assad regime. Yet, if you press them into recognizing the world is oft unfair and that these two are the only alternatives at present, they would say ISIL and peace. Given the already harsh reality conferred by such an existence, does another nation have a moral right to accost this forlorn population with greater pain by raining on them lethal devices of modern science? These people are now butchered from below and bombed from above. Their lone crime is to live in a land at the crossroads of an international struggle for power and wealth.

We must quash the idea that a nation which might have a more benign domestic system somehow has the moral right to attack another nation or society. This consideration is important when weighing the propriety of America's aerial war in Syria. This consideration is also important because it just may be as accurate a barometer of sound policy as any other consideration.

Syria has become a condominium of war.

Due to political and military miscalculations by a crowded procession of actors in a brief time, Syria has become as complex a situation as one can find. It is a theater of multiple wars: 1. Assad against the vaporous moderate do-

War upon war: Barack the bomber (Part two) War is a forgetful avenger. He who often turns to it ignores that someday it shall turn on him.

•Obama

mestic opposition, 2. Assad against ISIL, 3. ISIL against the moderates, 4. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others against Assad, 5. Turkey against Assad, 6.

Turkey against the Kurds versus ISIL versus Assad, 7. Israel against Assad, 8. Israel against Iran and Hezbollah, 9. America against ISIL, 10. America against Assad, 11. America against Russia, 12.

America against Iran, 13. Sunni against Shi'ite, and 14. Established states against the new entity that claims to honor the line of tradition, ISIL's emergent caliphate.

The Syrian conflict is a labyrinth of confusion.

The opening lines of each player's strategy are contradicted by the strategy's latter phases. Every nation is a contortionist. What is said is not what is meant and what is done goes unspoken. For a nation to jump into this maelstrom when none of its vital interests are at stake measures the reach of that nation's imperial folly. This is the context of the American incursion into Syria. America has entered a war, the full regional dimensions and intricacies of which it does not comprehend. Injecting oneself into the center of a dispute whose language you don't even understand testifies to an empire blinded by arrogance. This might not be the dance with death for the American empire but it certainly is a dance of diminution. It is a case of foreign policy malpractice on a felonious scale.

America warring against ISIL is the latest incident of Washington eventually battling a force it helped spawn. This dynamic finds its origins in the Cold War. Fearing secular, nationalist movements would angle toward the Soviet Union, America funded reactionary Islamist groups as counterweights throughout the Middle East. As part of its efforts culminating in the 1953 coup against democratically-elected Prime Minister Mossadegh, America funded an Islamic group to stir civil unrest because the prime minister had the temerity to challenge international oil companies. In Mossadegh, America paranoia saw a communist where there was none. A member of the clandestinely-funded group was a young cleric whose surname was Khomeini. Twenty-six years later, he would show America the bitter dividends of its tainted investment against Iranian democracy. The battle between America and Khomeini's political heirs still wages; it mars the Syrian complexity.

When the Soviet Union dumbly invaded Afghanistan, America rushed to fund the Taliban and the stream of itinerant mujahedeen pouring into the desolate nation. America's wanted the Soviets to experience their own Vietnam. After the war, America turned its back on the mujahedeen; it

turned against America. Al Qaeda was born in the bosom of American foreign policy. Its most prominent son would be Osama bin Laden. The rest is history.

The demise of the Cold War gave America freedom to sally forth and establish dominance in the oil-rich Middle East without risking superpower confrontation. American neo-conservatives believed staking claim to the Middle East would cement American economic and military global hegemony.

With many of them personally invested in America's oil sectors, this segment of the American elite would also financially profit. To accomplish this, stubborn nations in the region needed to be subdued and Russia had to be kept low. The Wolfowitz doctrine was incubated. This doctrine proclaims America should war to ensure its status as the lone superpower and to break recalcitrant nations that might assert a nettlesome independence of thought at the regional level. The doctrine has become the bipartisan capstone of American national security policy.

Pursuant to this doctrine, the defunct Soviet republic would be replaced by Middle Eastern nations as America's new foundational enemy. Libya, Iran, Iraq and Syria became four of the five charter members of the Axis of Evil, with nuclear misfit North Korea as the group's lone geographical outlier.

In breaking Saddam, America allowed Al Qaeda to flourish in a country where it once had been proscribed. That branch of Al Qaeda splintered. The splinter grew tumescent, expanding into Syria to become ISIL. America teamed with Al Qaeda to topple Libya's Gaddafi. Again, America would turn its back on the matter, allowing the jihadists free rein in the disheveled nation. That branch of Al Qaeda would export Libyan weapons, fanning the embers of war in regions as far flung as Nigeria and Syria.

To understand American foreign policy, you must understand that the war against terrorism is conditional and flexible. The war against enemy nations is the absolute, rigid one. The Wolfowitz doctrine supersedes the battle against extremists groups. America and its Arab allies wittingly funded ISIL in the battle against the Assad regime.

America declared it was funding the "moderate Syria opposition." This is a falsehood. Like the ersatz moderate Iraqi opposition before it, this Syrian group looms prominent only in international conferences and in the minds of Western policymakers who believe they can call their desired objective in existence simply by willing it so. On the battlefield, the moderate opposition has been a neg-

ligible presence. It is an open secret that American intelligence services have been equipping and paying salaries to fighters who can only be described as extremists.

What ISIL has done in Syria is merely compressed the normal time span between receipt of American assistance and fight against America.

A friend- to-foe process that took years with Al Qaeda has taken only months with ISIL. Once ISIL declared intention to hold territory, it became America's foe because it transformed itself from being a tool to upend a troublesome state into becoming an inchoate member of the group of contumacious nations America disdains.

Now America bombs ISIL in Syria and Iraq.

In doing so, America breached international norms. It is unlawful to attack the territory of another state unless that state or something in it presented a proximate threat. The Assad regime did not threaten. ISIL presented no closing threat although it brutally executed several Americans.

To provide legal pretext for the bombing, the Obama administration invented the Khorasan group, claiming this fictitious Al Qaeda offshoot planned an imminent attack on American territory. The news of this group likely sent Al Qaeda leaders scurrying to check their membership database. They had never heard of this group.

Moreover, American official policy long ago made mince of the phrase "imminent threat."

They are not bound to the common meaning we give it, signaling something near and close. If something is discussed by suspected terrorists and is within the realm of possibility at some future point, the American government considers it imminent. Today, imminent means almost anything. It is akin to executing a man for murder just because he was heard to remark that "he was so angry he could kill" after having a heated argument with a friend. Showing the contrived nature of this ploy, America has intensified bombing of Syria after claiming to have obliterated Khorasan headquarters and its plans against the American nation. If the bombing achieved its aim, the imminent threat to America is no more.

A legal rationale for continued operations is unavailing particularly since there is no claim ISIL or Assad conspired with the starkly ephemeral Khorasan outfit.

In Washington, the walls close against President Obama. He is loath to insert ground troops; but, the logic of the circumstance may soon demand he shelve this skittishness. He is on the verge of winning the devil's lottery. In exchange for ending war in one nation (Iraq), he may return to the region to war against two nations (Iraq and Syria). He has not the political courage to forestall the neo-conservatives who press for war. He will succumb. He hoped Turkey would bail him from the dilemma by furnishing the needed ground muscle. But the Turkish leader is allied to ISIL. Erdogan's mortal foe is Assad.

The Turk envisions himself as a Sunni bulwark against motley Alawite and Shi'ite groups ruling Syria and Iraq, respectively. Moreover, given his troubles with his Kurdish minority, Alawite minority rule in Syria is an abomination to the increasingly chauvinistic Erdogan. After Assad, Kurds are his most irksome national security challenge. ISIL is minor his list of worries.

For now, it serves as his instrument of destruction for it fights both Assad and the Kurds.

In a display of frigid indifference that would cause Machiavelli to shudder with embarrassment, Erdogan idled his strong military, asking it not to lift a finger to help beleaguered Kurdish fighters as ISIL steadily captures the strategic border town of Khobani. For Erdogan, ISIL pummels two birds - Assad and ISIL -- with one stone. Thus, Erdogan proclaimed Turkey will not engage ISIL unless President Obama agrees to deploy the American military in toppling Assad. He extorts Obama while ISIL decimates the Kurds. This is how realpolitik is played in a rough neighborhood. Yet, it has caught the American leader unprepared. Erdogan is well aware American conservatives now press Obama in the same way. He likely orchestrates his diplomatic extortion of Obama with them. Theirs is a concert for war.

Obama prays the bombing campaign will halt ISIL. So far, it has not noticeably handicapped the group. ISIL advances in both Syria and Iraq. This is not a sign of a battered army.

The aerial campaign will prove insufficient.

During the Vietnam War, American hurled more destructive tonnage than was expended during the entirety of WW II by all nations combined.

Still, America lost. The currently level of bombing in the Iraq/Syrian theatre is a pinprick. If only Obama had the courage and foresight of a man willing to listen to instincts for peace instead of the call of the American war machine.

He would have collaborated with the Russian president to contain the war in Syria. If so, ISIL would not be as it is and America would not be on the verge of sending troops back into the fire.

However, the war party in America now prevails. Expansion of war is in the offing. The slim chance for peace will be a first casualty. President Obama's foreign policy legacy will be its second.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

NEWS

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Riot: Prison Service raises probe panel • Confirms one dead, six injured

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HE Nigeria Prison Service (NPS) yesterday said one inmate died and six others were injured during the riot at the Kirikiri Medium Security Prison on Friday.

Out of the six, three had been discharged and three still in the hospital.

It insisted that the incident was a riot and not a jailbreak because none of the 2,517 inmates at the prison escaped.

It, however, said the Acting Comptroller-General of Prison (CGP), Aminu Sule, has raised a panel, headed by Assistant Comptroller-General of Prison (Operations), to probe the riot.

The panel, which is expected to submit its findings on or before Friday, has moved to Lagos.

But extra-security measures have been put in place to prevent a recurrence of the riot.

The Public Relations Officer for the NPS, Mr. Ope Fatinikun, who gave update to our correspondent yesterday, said: "For record purpose, what happened at the prison on Friday was a riot and not a jailbreak as being insinuated. It took place at about 1.30pm.

"During the riot, seven inmates were injured and taken to hospital. Out of the seven, it was unfortunate that one died on Saturday morning; three inmates were discharged and three others are still in the hospital.

"The Acting CGP, Aminu

FROM: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

Sule has raised a panel, headed

by ACGP (Operations) to look into the remote and immediate causes behind the riot."

Responding to a question, Fatinikun added: "I cannot tell you the reasons or factors behind the riot; it is the job of the panel to do so. We hope that the panel will complete its assignment on or before Friday and we will make its findings known to the public."

Another prison source said: "I think the riot had to do with welfare issues, especially the congestion at the yard. Some are talking of lack of access to telephones but this is remote as a factor behind the riot because the prison rules and regulations are clearly spelt out to inmates.

"We are not foreclosing all issues; we are already looking into it. The NPS management has directed that extra-security measures should be put in place at the Kirikiri Medium Prison."

The 1,700-capacity prison had 2,517 inmates as at the time the immediate past Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Phillips (rtd) visited the yard on June 16 for Jail Delivery Exercise.

Out of the 2,517 inmates, 2,382 were rated as awaiting trial with only 135 convicts.

The former Chief Judge, who expressed concern about the congestion at the prison, could only set free 71 inmates.

Aviation sector contributes 0.4% to GDP, says Chidoka

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HE Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has said that the sector contribution to the country's Gross Domestic Product(GDP) is very low.

He attributed the low contribution to low level of technology, productivity and poor return on investment in the country.

In a statement signed by the Assistant Director, Press & Public Affairs, James Odaudu, the minister revealed that the aviation sector currently contributes 0.4% to the nation's Gross Domestic Product.

He disclosed this in a lecture delivered to the participants of Course 36 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Jos. Chidoka described the Nigerian aviation industry as a sleeping giant with total do-

From: Faith Yahaya, Abuja

mestic and international movement put at over 15 million.

Following the low input to the GDP, the minister said the federal government will establish a baseline that will monitor, measure and improve the industry.

He said, given Nigeria's natural and mineral resources, the country has the potentials for achievements like Dubai, Singapore and African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa in reaping benefits derivable from the sector.

He however lamented that the absence of any kind of direct air link between Nigeria and the growing market of Asia denies Nigeria revenues accruable to local airlines and the nation.

Jonathan congratulates Malala, Satyarthi

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated the jointrecipients of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, Pakistani girl-child education activist, Malala Yousafzai, and Indian children’s rights campaigner, Kailash Satyarthi.

He described them as worthy recipients of the prize in view of their globallyacclaimed and courageous advocacy against bigotry, discrimination, oppression and extremism even in the most difficult of circumstances.

In a statement by his spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati, Jonathan enjoined them to draw greater strength from the global honour and recognition.

He urged them to “carry on their brave advocacy for the rights of girls, women and oppressed persons with renewed vigour and impetus.”

The president assured that he will continue to do all within his powers to promote “safe education for all children and the empowerment of women, while vigorously protecting young children from forced labour and human trafficking.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

NEWS

Generator explosion kills OSRC engineer

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staff of the engineering department of the Ondo State Radio Vision Corporation (OSRC), Mr. Rotimi Fagbemi, at the weekend died of generator explosion.

Sources said the deceased’s body was severely mutilated when the generator exploded and slashed him into pieces.

It was learnt that the faulty generator had allegedly been serving the media outfit as the only source of power in the past one year.

The incident was said to have instantly led to suspension of transmission while the workers on duty wailed and accused the management of total neglect of the station.

Many workers who spoke in confidence said their destiny had been tied to the wisdom of the Corporation’s DirectorGeneral.

They said that they had resigned to fate as previous efforts to get the attention of Governor Olusegun Mimiko were turned against their leaders who were arrested, detained and subsequently suspended before being re-

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

deployed from the station.

Union leaders in OSRC and other workers protested a few months ago over the alleged poor working condition and maladministration by its management.

The protest led to the setting up of an investigative panel headed by the former Head of Service (HoS), Barr.

Ajose Kudehinbu, which made various recommenda-

tions to overhaul the entire system in the corporation for better output.

A portion of the panel’s recommendations reads: “OSRC with our findings is a place where a reasonable human being should not wish to work, hence the State government should urgently intervene to bail the Corporation out.”

The report, however, did not see the light of the day.

Instead, all the workers

and union leaders who appeared before the Kudehinbu’s panel to give an insight into myriads of problems in the Corporation were sanctioned.

Some of them were said to have been re-deployed, demoted or denied their normal entitlements for agitating for better working condition in the establishment.

When contacted on the incident, Police Spokesman, Wole Ogodo, an Assistant Su-

perintendent of Police (ASP), confirmed the incident.

He said men from the State Police Command had visited the Orita-Obele premises of the Corporation.

He added that the corpse had been deposited at an undisclosed mortuary.

Ogodo, who described the incident as sad Commiserated with the family of the deceased, OSRC management and staff as well as Ondo State Government.

Poultry farmers seek intervention on egg-glut From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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OULTRY farmers have called on government to find last solution to egg-glut as a way of reducing unemployment.

The General Secretary of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) Oyo State branch, Dr Segun Makanjuola, stated this in a statement to commemorate this year World Egg Day. Makanjuola explained that if government addresses the challenges facing its members, the level of unemployment and malnutrition among children as well as other health-related challenges would be reduced to the barest minimum.

He urged state governments to embark on feeding school children with an egg per day because of its nutritional value.

The initiative, he said, will also address the problem of incessant egg glut in the country.

Mama Akinsanmi dies

M

AMA Florence E m i l o l a Akinsanmi, 77, is

dead.

She died after a brief illness at her residence in Ondo.

She is survived by many children and grand children among whom is Dr (Mrs) Tunrayo Olumakaiye wife of Rt Rev Dr Humphrey Olumakaiye.

Her remains will be buried in Ondo on October 31 after a funeral service at All Saints’ Anglican Church Ogbonkowo, Ondo State.

*From L-R: Representatives of Lagos State Governor, Matter Major Tunde Pannos; Controller of Prisons Lagos State Command Headquarters, Vincent Ubi; Outgoing controller of Prisons Lagos State Command, Mrs. Catherine Ononye and General Overseer Amazing Grace Pentecostal Church Lagos, Bishop Chioma Dauji, during the send off and pull out ceremony for Ononye at Prisons Training College, Kirikiri, Apapa-Lagos…recently PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

You lied about court pronouncement, Osun APC tells PDP

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HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has challenged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to produce a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the pronouncement of the Federal Court of Appeal in Akure that allegedly nullified the election of state and federal legislators in the state yesterday.

The APC asked Nigerians to discountenance the claims that the elections of legislators conducted by Ambassador Rufus Akeju have been declared invalid

until the PDP produces the CTC. The party, in a statement by its Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Barrister Kunle Oyatomi, said: “There’s no such declaration by any court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’’

It accused the PDP of feeding the public with misinformation and blatant lies.

The APC pointed out that the PDP had challenged the competence of Akeju to conduct the elections but later stopped any further

action on the substantive matter until the determination of the appeal in Akure.

It said: “Our authentic in formation is that the court declared that the process of filing the appeal by INEC was defective, hence incompetent and was as a result struck out.

“The Court of Appeal neither made pronouncements on the substantive suit which is not before the court of Appeal but still pending in Osogbo nor did it declare the elections of 2011 ‘null and

void’ as the PDP is misleading Nigerians.

“What Akure Court did was to strike out a defective notice which can still be refiled. The substantive case in which the PDP is seeking a Court’s (not the Electoral Tribunal) pronouncement that the legislative elections of 2011 were allegedly null and void, has been withdrawn at the Federal High Court Osogbo.

“So an appeal court cannot make a pronouncement on a matter that has not even been heard or argued by the parties involved, at the High Court.”

Olagunju laid to rest amid eulogies

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HE Asiwaju of Aagba in Boripe Local Government of Osun State, Chief Michael Olagunju, was laid to rest yesterday amid eulogies.

Parish priest of St. John Catholic Church, Ilode-Ife, Rev. Father John Popoola, who delivered the sermon at the order of requiem mass held in the deceaseds honour at the St. Anthony Catholic

From: Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

Church, Aagba, described Asiwaju Olagunju as a man who lived by God’s principles.

The cleric said Olagunju used his time, money and energy to serve God and the humanity.

He challenged the widow, children, friends and associates of the deceased to promote his ideals.

According to Popoola: “We must not let his good works perish but go on in the town, in politics and in the church.

“Asiwaju is known for love of God. He was a good Christian and a good Catholic. He was generous. He loved to pray.

“Though he died at the age of 68, which we can say is relatively short, his life had mean-

ing because he allowed it to touch lives positively.”

The cleric admonished those living as if life is forever to take lessons from Asiwaju Olagunju’s spartan and godly lifestyle.

Ashiwaju is survived by wife, Mrs. Claudius-Maria Olagunju; three children Oloruntomiloba, Ifeoluwa and Oluwayemisi, and grand children.

Youths threaten to mobilise against APC

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OUTHS from IbejuLekki Local Government area of Lagos State have threatened to mobilise against the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 general elections if it fails to replace the current political office holders from the area.

The youths, under the aegis of Concerned Youths of Ibeju Lekki Local Government, alleged that public office holders elected from the area have woefully failed electorate in the area.

They said: “We like to re-

By Oziegbe Okoeki

mind the party leadership that the recent history of Ibeju Lekki is one that is politically threatened by the opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), specifically in terms of catchment over the time with all efforts previously put in place to win political offices in Ibeju Lekki.”

In a communiqué at the end of a meeting, they resolved that “any attempt by the APC leadership to consider the return of any, some

or all of these current political office holders from Ibeju Lekki may spell political catastrophe for the party in the coming elections”.

The communiqué signed

by Adedayo Nurain added: “We call on APC leadership to carry out on-the-spot assessment of the facts contained in this statement and sample opinions of the politically active people in Ibeju Lekki.

“We remain resolute in this demand, reminding the party of fresh plots by the opposition to gain control of

Ibeju Lekki axis of Lagos State scale up to capture the entire state in governorship election in 2015 “We warn strongly that any attempt to ignore or disregard our position will mean that our group will rally our members teeming over 500 youths to campaign against these current serving political office holders directly, irrespective of political affiliation, and will ensure they are not re-elected to serve in their respective current capacities.”

Jonathan restates commitment to education From: Olugbenga Adanikin, Adanikin, Abuja

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has restated his commitment to integrating the nation’s education sector through his transformation agenda.

Jonathan said it was important for the nation to have more quality universities in the country, stressing that it would increase ‘asset of the nation’ and contribute to nation building.

Speaking at the maiden graduation ceremony of the Baze University, yesterday in Abuja, Jonathan commended the school administrators for contributing to the education sector.

“We use this opportunity to assure the university of continuous support of this government towards realising the peaceful and development of this country,” he said.

The president, who was represented by the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, assured of continuous support for the sector.

He expressed optimism the school will maintain standards that would add up to national development.

Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd.), asked the federal government to do everything possible to reintegrate the Boko Haram Islamic sect into the society before elections.

Gowon said the peace and unity of the nation cannot be overemphasised.

He stated that building a democracy involves peace and ensuring quality education.

According to him, despite activities of the insurgent, northern education persisted.

“Christianity and Islam are very much needed to further unite Nigeria to avoid dangers that may prevent Nigeria from maintaining its unity,” Gowon added.

‘29 million Nigerians at risk of Lassa fever’ From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

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WENTY-NINE million Nigerians are at the risk of Lassa fever, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Khaliru Alhassan, has warned.

The minister also noted that 26 states are exposed to the deadly disease.

Alhassan issued the warning yesterday at the occasion marking the first National Lassa Fever Day celebration in the country and presentation of 5,000 safeguard soaps to the ministry by Procter &Gamble, (P&G) Nigeria.

The minister also explained that the recent outbreak of the disease in the country is a signal that it has not received the expected attention.

He noted that in 2012 alone, the country recorded 1,944 cases with 207 deaths.

Alhassan also noted that the majority of the deaths were recorded among the healthcare providers.

The minister warned that every case should be well investigated to reduce the fertility among health workers, which is put at about 50-80 per cent.

Alhassan further stressed protecting the health workers will go a long way in the campaign to halt the communicable disease.

He warned health workers on the need to be protected while treating Lassa fever patients.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014

Varsity confers honorary award on late Adadevoh

F

OR her laudable contributions to containment of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the late Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh of First Consultant Hospital, at the weekend, bagged an honorary doctorate degree of Baze University, Abuja.

She was conferred with the Degree of Doctor of Letters, Honouris Causa posthumously by the Board of Trustees (BOT) and the Senate of Baze University during the institution's maiden graduation ceremony at the weekend in Abuja.

About seven out of the 64 graduating students made first class in their respective studies.

While reading Adadevoh's citation, Head of General Studies, Dr. Kevin Sludds, described her as an extremely dedicated, compassionate and God-fearing individual who sacrificed her life to prevent a national catastrophe.

According to the institute, the late Adadevoh left a permanent mark on the society, stating she was deserving of the honour.

Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, tasked government to ensure free and basic education for every child.

T

Death toll rises to 31 as gunmen sustain attacks in Plateau

HE ongoing attacks on communities of Riyom local government, Plateau State, has claimed five more lives as gunmen continue to unleash terror on residents.

Victims of the latest attack were ambushed by the gunmen in a bush located between Shonong and Badok.

The series of attack on the

K

ANO State gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abba Muhammed, has promised to create employment opportunities for youths if elected.

Muhammed, who made the pledge in Kano yester-

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos local government commenced on the 2nd of October and has continued on a daily basis leading to the death of over 30 people.

The gunmen had allegedly attacked 12 villages with tension in others on when it would be their turn.

Chairman of Riyom Local Government, Hon. Josephine Piyo, who confirmed the fresh attack, said: "The victims were on their way from Shonong to Badok village and were ambushed and killed by gunmen.

"I reported the incident to the Special Taskforce on Jos crisis STF. I believe by now they should have gone there.''

Some of the villagers have raised the alarm that the gunmen terrorising the communities may be coming from their camp located in a forest between Plateau and Kaduna States.

The rocky forest lay particularly in Riyom local government of Plateau State, extending to Sanga local government of Kaduna State.

My plans for Kano, by Murtala's son From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

day at his formal declaration, also vowed to support the manufacturing sector and reduce dependence on importance of drugs.

He maintained that these

measures will cumulatively result in an industrial revolution of the state.

The aspirant added that his administration will collaborate with agencies to ensure adequate security of lives and properties for citi-

zens and all categories of businesses to create an enabling atmosphere.

He explained that he would also place emphasis on putting food on the tables of the less-privileged in Kano.

Protests as Taraba Acting Gov picks intent form tomorrow

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CTING Governor of Taraba State, Garba Umar, will buy the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship intent form tomorrow.

He reportedly asked all his commissioners, advisers and chairmen of local government councils to be in Abuja yesterday preparatory to the event.

The officials are to mobilise support for the acting governor.

From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo

But some stakeholders from the state, particularly from southern Taraba district, are kicking against it.

They have warned him of the consequences of his ambition.

They alleged that Umar had agreed not to aspire for any office before he was appointed deputy by Governor Danbaba Suntai.

They also accused Umar

of being "disloyal" to the ailing governor and vowed to stop him from getting the ticket even if he buys the nomination form.

Suntai, who hails from the Central Senatorial zone, had proposed to relinquish power to the South.

He took over in 2007 from Jolly Nyame, who hails from the North and ruled for 10 years.

Suntai, the stakeholdes said, had argued that the

fairest thing to do is to zone the 2015 governorship slot to the South.

His involvement in the plane crash on October 25, 2012, has however, changed the political calculation.

Umar, who is from the north, is contesting on grounds that Taraba has never practiced zoning politics.

He also said he has the unalienable right to run for the exalted office.

NEWS 77 Sokoto sponsors 1,500, trains 20,000 From: Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

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O fewer than 1,500 Sokoto State indigenes are on sponsorship for various programmes in different universities abroad.

Another 20,000 youths have been trained in various vocational programmes by the state government since 2007 to date.

Governor Aliyu Wamakko stated these in Sokoto yesterday while closing the annual national leadership training course of the Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria (MSSN).

The theme of the course was: "Towards actualising functional leadership in Nigeria: The Role of the MSSN." Wamakko said the students were pursuing various degree programmes in Africa, Asia and Europe among others.

The governor, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Alhaji Harande Mahe, said: "the youths are the future leaders of Nigeria and the state in particular. As such, they should be fully equipped to play this role diligently."

78

SPORTS THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Ajimobi Bags Ibadan FA Honour

EXTRA

OCTOBER 12, 2014

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n recognition of a sincere effort to woman football development and concern for community healthcare, wife of the executive Governor of Oyo State Chief Mrs. Florence Ajimobi has bagged the 2014 of'Distinguished Humanitarian Award' of Ibadan Football Association (IFA).

The Oyo first lady according to statement issued by IFA and signed by its director of communication and strategy, Mr. Folorunsho Oyelakin singled out the efforts of the Mrs. Ajimobi, whose team (Florence Ajimobi Queens) won the 2013 edition of the age long female category of Oba Olubadan Cup in sustaining female football in the state.

“IFA award introduced to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in outstanding individuals who have imparted positively on lives of people. The first recipient of the IFA's Pillar of Sports Award was Chief Afe babalola, who have greatly touched the lives people through his huge supports for sports promotions and education development.

Ejele Nat. U-18 tourney excites Sapele Youths

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OUTHS in Sapele and its environs were full of excitement over a National Under-18 Youth Soccer Tournament instituted by the Delta State politician, Michael Diden popularly known as Ejele who was the former Commissioner of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) to develop and engage youths in the restive area.

The grassroots soccer tourney according to a release issued by A Square Sports International that will organize the tourney stated that the motive of Hon. Ejele, the sponsor of the competition is to more expose the youths in the Niger/Delta area to international football hence has arranged for foreign scouts to be on ground during the tourney to fish for talents.

DOWN AND OUT: Interim Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi

Sudan outrun sorry Super Eagles in Khartoum

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frican champions, Nigeria, were stunned 0-1 by Sudan in a 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in Khartoum on Saturday.

Nigeria nearly got their noses in front in the 11th minute after a beautiful ball from the midfield by John Obi Mikel found Ahmed Musa whose cross into the Sudanese

box was met by Nosa Igiebor's effort which came off the post.

Efe Ambrose and Mikel also had a pop at the Sudanese goal in quick succession in the 13th minute as Nigeria grew in confidence after a nervous start.

Sudan's claim for a penalty was waved away after Tahir's charge at goal whipped off Ambrose's shoulder.

The Falcons of Jediane kept the Nigerian defence on their toes for a long stretch and Tahir's effort in the 29 minute just flashed over the bar as Vincent Enyeama looked to have had it covered.

Sudan got their noses in front in the 43rd minute after great work from the right side and Babeker Bakri buried his

Super Falcons begin on winning note

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…Beat Cote d'Ivoire 4-2

dwin Okon's ladies began their 2014 African Women Championship on a brilliant note as they breezed past Clementine Toure's ladies yesterday.

Nigeria women national team defeated Cote d'Ivoire 42 in their opening game of the 9th African Women Championship played at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek on Saturday evening.

A brace from Desire Oparanozie inspired Edwin Okon's ladies to a comfortable win as they begin their quest RESULTS for their seventh title as well Africa Cup of Nations as seek a place in the 2015 Group A Congo 0 - 2 South Africa FIFA Women's World Cup billed for Canada.

Sudan 1 - 0 Nigeria In a related development, Group B the Super Falcons may have to Malawi 0 - 2 Algeria Ethiopia 0 - 2 Mali wait for their bonuses till the Group D end of the African Women S/Leone 0 - 0 Cameroon Championship which kicked DR C 1 - 2 Cote d'Ivoire off yesterday in Windhoek.

Group E Even at that, the only Uganda 0 - 1 Togo guarantee that the team will Group F Mo’bique 2 - 0 C/ Verde be adequately rewarded is Niger 0 - 0 Zambia

From Onyewuchi president of the federation Nwachukwu in Windhoek visited the team in Abuja hinged on their ability to do well at the tournament if a revelation made by Emeka Inyama, an executive committee member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was anything to go by.

He also said that no amount has been fixed for the team.

In the case of Falcons' men's counterpart, the Super Eagles, their match bonuses and allowances are usually fixed few months before they attend a major tournament but Inyama however pointed out that the federation will try as much as possible to encourage the players to put in their best.

"The truth is that we have not pegged any amount as bonuses for our girls but I know that from time to time, the president of the federation has promised to motivate the players as they progress in the tournament.

"Don't forget that the

before they left for Namibia to tell that the federation and the federal are fully behind them.

You know what that means for the girls.” Inyama added.

Meanwhile, Namibia got off to a winning start beating Zambia 2-0 in opening match of the TN Mobile 9th African Women Championship at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek.

Rita Williams and Thomalina Adams scored in the first half to give the Brave Gladiators a perfect start at the championship.

Cheered on by almost 98 percent of the crowd at the over 10,000-capacity stadium, the hosts unsettled the Zambians from the onset with Adams, a popular figure among the fans giving the Zambian backline so much to worry about.

The Stadium roared anytime Adams touched the ball but it was louder when number 10, Zenatha Coleman had her foot on the ball.

header past Enyeama for their first goal of the final qualifying series.

Nigeria came out flying in the second half as Ambrose tested Sudan's goalkeeper and Mikel's follow-up went out for a corner kick which was wasted Stephen Keshi threw on Emmanuel Sunday and Raheem Lawal in a bid to get Nigeria back in the game but their introduction did not yield the much needed results.

Sudan's defence held out for a famous win despite Nigeria's best effort and a Mikel's disallowed goal to chalk up their first full points in the qualifiers.

Nigeria are now placed last

in the group with just one point from three matches and the Super Eagles will host Sudan on Wednesday at the National Stadium in Abuja South Africa earlier on beat Congo 2-0 away in Pointe Noire to leap frog the Congolese to top spot in the group with seven points.

Nigeria XI: Vincent Enyeama, Efe Ambrose, Elderson Echiejile, Godfrey Oboabona Kenneth Omeruo, Ogenyi Onazi, John Obi Mikel, Nosa Igiebor (Aaron Samuel), Ahmed Musa (Raheem Lawal), Emmanuel Emenike, Gbolahan Salami (Emmanuel Sunday)

Maroc 2015: CAF rejects 'Ebola postponement' plan

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HE African Football Confederation (CAF) has rejected Morocco's request to postpone the Africa Cup of Nations due to the Ebola virus.

The Moroccan government made the plea to CAF to suspend the tournament, due to be held between January 17 and February 8 next year.

Ebola, a deadly virus, has killed thousands of people in recent weeks as it continues to spread in the west of the continent.The virus has already affected qualifying, with several matches relocated.

CAF, yesterday, released a statement declaring that the tournament will not be rescheduled, explaining that

the event had never been changed in the past.But the statement did go on to say that CAF will meet with Moroccan officials next month to discuss the issue. “ The Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) on Friday, 10 October 2014 received a request from the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Kingdom of Morocco, “the statement reads.“The letter was seeking a deferral of the schedule of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015 fixed for 17 January to 8 February, due to the Ebola outbreak. “ CAF has registered the request and wishes to state that there are no changes of the schedules of its competitions and events.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY OCTOBER 12, 2014 2015 Nations Cup: Algeria edge closer to qualification

SPORT EXTRA

No United return for Ronaldo

WORLD CUP

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lgeria beat Malawi 2-0 in their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday to be on the verge of booking their place at the final in Morocco.

The Desert Foxes have a 100% winning record in Group B after three matches and victory at home to Malawi in Wednesday's return fixture will clinch their qualification.

Twenty minutes later, Feghouli Sofiane thought he had doubled the advantage but his effort was ruled out for offside.

After the interval, Malawi came close to an equaliser when midfielder Joseph Kamwenda hit the woodwork and then Chiukepo Msowoya shot wide from inside the six yard box.

And the Flames were made to pay for their misses when Algeria substitute Mesbah Djamel Eddine fired home in added time to seal the victory.

Bafana bag priceless win in Congo

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ongane Ndulula scored his second international goal in just three appearances to help South Africa to a crucial 2-0 victory over CongoBrazzaville in a 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Pointe Noire yesterday.

Ndulula drew first blood early in the second half, before Tokelo Rantie helped himself to his fifth international career goal to put the result beyond doubt and send Bafana Bafana top of group A. As the qualification campaign reached the halfway stage, Bafana grabbed three priceless points in a week where talk of a win for South Africa focused on the unlikelihood in the ever-hostile coastal city of Pointe Noire.

Seven points from three tough encounters gives South Africa a superb start and a solid footing as the team begin their trip back home, where Polokwane will host the return fixture against Congo next week.

Akinfenwa at the double for Dons

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d e b a y o Akinfenwa's double helped AFC Wimbledon beat League Two high-fliers Bury 3-2 at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

The bulky striker scored twice in 12 first-half minutes, following up on his winner against MK Dons in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy on Tuesday.

Danny Mayor briefly restored hope for the Shakers shortly after the restart but Matt Tubbs then added a third for the hosts, meaning Ryan Lowe's subsequent penalty was merely a consolation.

Akinfenwa, who now has seven goals in his last six games, opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a powerful volley before heading in a Sean Rigg cross in the 37th.

The 29-year-old volleys home to put his side 1-0 up in the 28th minute as his effort bounced down past Argentina keeper Sergio Romero

Brazil take Argentina down in 'Superclassico’

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IEGO Tardelli scored both goals as Brazil beat fellow South American giants Argentina 20 in a Beijing tussle billed as the Superclassico yesterday.

The Atletico Mineiro striker grabbed the first after a defensive blunder in the Argentinian defence, and headed the second just after the hour mark.

For Argentina, Lionel

Messi missed a penalty when Brazil's lead was just one goal, seeing his spot-kick saved by Jefferson.

It was a match that saw both teams under new management following the World Cup, with Dunga in charge of Brazil and Gerardo Martino leading Argentina.

New Manchester United recruit Angel Di Maria shone in the early stages for

Argentina, spearheading a string of attacks, but Jefferson was repelling everything flung at him.

It was shocking defending that cost Brazil in the World Cup, when as hosts they crumpled to a shocking 7-1 defeat against Germany in the semi-finals, but this time the defensive calamity was from those in blue and white.It came in the 28th minute when Oscar crossed a rather innocuous ball from the right, that Federico Fernandez and Pablo Zabaleta both went after. But the Swansea centreback and Manchester City Saturday, saying: 'I have right-back got in each other's nothing to declare except my genius? Wow thanks to whoever did this.

'I know all of you expect aniel Sturridge more from me .. More goals returned to training especially and more "genius" today after a month but give me time and I'll show out with a thigh injury, it's true.'

B a l o t e l l i h a s h a d a reports the Mirror.

The Liverpool striker has somewhat indifferent start to his Liverpool career, scoring been out of action for a month j u s t o n c e i n h i s e i g h t after picking up his injury a p p e a r a n c e s i n a l l ahead of England's Euro 16 competitions so far. qualifier with Switzerland.

That sole goal was the It will come as welcome opener in their 2-1 Champions League victory over Bulgarian minnows Ludogerets last month.His LOYD Mayweather Jnr lack of form has also seen him has threatened to sack left out of the last two Italy his dad as his trainer boss Antonio Conte's last two after Floyd Snr suggested his squads. son would fight Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao.

The pound-for-pound megastar has two fights left on his six-fight deal with Draxler has long been an Showtime and insists he will Arsenal target and apparently retire next September. the north London side will But hopes that those last finally sign the young two bouts would be against German attacking midfielder with a move finally being long-time rival Pacquiao and rubber stamped by Wenger British speedster Khan have after he finally ran out of been dashed.

Khan has taunted patience with underperforming playmaker Ozil. Mayweather Jnr leading to speculation that the two

Mario Balotelli thanks Liverpool fans over banner

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ARIO Balotelli has praised Liverpool fans for their support and promised them that better performances and goals are set to come.

The 24-year-old took to Instagram on Saturday to thank the Anfield faithful for the banner that they have displayed in his honour, and assured them that he will repay them soon.

The banner, written in Balotelli's native Italian tongue, translates into English as 'I have nothing to declare except my genius'.

Balotelli's post on Instagram thanking the fans for the gesture and assuring them his best is yet to come And Balotelli replied to the gesture on Instagram on

Arsenal to complete £37m signing of Ozil 's replacement

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rsenal are reportedly 'set to complete' the signing of Schalke youngster Julian Draxler.

Arsene Wenger is apparently ready to stump up the £37m needed to trigger the 21 year old's release clause as he prepares for life without club record signing Mesut Ozil.

79

way, with an unconvincing header from Fernandez landing only at the feet of Tardelli, to the left of goal, who drilled a low right-footed volley across goal and into the far corner.

Argentina appeared fortunate to be handed a penalty in the 40th minute when Di Maria went down in the 18-yard box, under a challenge from Danilo. The defender looked to take the ball, with Di Maria stumbling to the ground, and there was a sense of justice when Messi's soft penalty to the left corner was pushed out by the Brazil goalkeeper.

Sturridge returns to training

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news to Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who has failed to pick up a league win since their main striker was injured.

The injury to the Englishman, who has scored 32 goals in 40 games since his move from rival Chelsea, was not without its fair share of controversy.

Floyd Mayweather Jnr may sack dad

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could fight next year “Well my father is totally wrong,” Mayweather told fighthype.com. 'Like I said before, we have people constantly being removed from the Mayweather Promotions team, Team Mayweather, and we also have people being removed from The Money Team.

“I want my dad to be with my team, but if he continues to go out there and speak on things that he has no knowledge about without communicating with me, then I must get a new trainer.

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OOTBALL super agent Jorge Mendes says his client Cristiano Ronaldo will never return to former club Manchester United.

Ronaldo joined United in 2003 from Sporting for a fee of £12.6million and became a club legend as he helped the Red Devils win three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups and the UEFA Champions League.

Six years later he became the most expensive player in the world after completing an £80million to Real Madrid in 2009.

There has been a lot of speculation in recent months that the reigning player of the year would return to Old Trafford within the next two seasons.

And while Ronaldo has also hinted at a possible move, his agent says the 29year-old will more than likely retire at Real Madrid.

"Cristiano is very happy in Madrid," Jorge Mendes told El Partido de las 12.

"He'll go on to beat all club records and he will retire there. He could play on until he is 40.

"He respects the Manchester United supporters who remember him, but there have been no offers because people know it's impossible to take Cristiano out of Real Madrid.”

Michael Uchebo joins Boavista

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ORTUGUESE club Boavista have completed the signing of Nigeria striker Michael Uchebo on a free transfer, reports BBC Sport.

The 24-year-old, who left Belgian side Cercle Brugge at the end of last season, has joined the Primeira Liga club in a three-year deal.

"My plan is to keep making steady progress in my career,”he said."I'm very pleased to join Boavista. I believe it's the right club for me and I will give my very best for the team."

The forward, who was part of the Nigeria team that reached the second round of the World Cup in Brazil, had been linked with a switch to the Ukrainian League for several weeks.

"It's true I had contract offers from two teams in Ukraine but my manager and family were not entirely satisfied with the move, due to the crisis in the region," said Uchebo.

And his agent Tony Harris told BBC Sport: "I believe Boavista is a great place for him to showcase his ability. He's a very talented boy with a very good mentality. His best years are still ahead of him."

Uchebo started his career with Nigerian club Enugu Rangers before joining Dutch club VVV Venlo in a three-year deal in 2010.

He soon became an influential player in the team and achieved near cult-status with the fans in 2012 when he scored a late winner in a relegation playoff to keep the club in the top flight.

QUOTABLE

The ambassador said if we continued to keep Mr. Sawyer, it would be tantamount to kidnap and abuse of human right. He said if we did not release him, he would be subjecting our hospital to international diplomatic row and we should not rule out the possibility of a law suit.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 9, NO. 2999

—Chief Medical Director of First Consultants Medical Centre, Lagos, Dr. Benjamin Ohiaeri on how the Liberian ambassador to Nigeria tried to force the release of the Nigerian Ebola index case, late Patrick Sawyer.

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DAMAWA State politicians are shameless, particularly their lawmakers. Last week, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ordered the dethronement of Acting Governor Umaru Fintiri. He had taken office after he masterminded, as Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, the impeachment of the governor, Murtala Nyako. It was all but clear Hon Fintiri plotted the impeachment for the sole purpose of becoming governor. He of course served as the public face and arrowhead of the many plots concocted by top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) politicians of Adamawa origin and the Goodluck Jonathan presidency exasperated by Admiral Nyako’s strident denunciation of the president. Hon Fintiri did not pretend to any altruism, and perhaps could not. There is nothing in him to show that on any state matter, or political issue, he can be high-minded.

But as Hon Fintiri was betraying his oath as a lawmaker and displaying his greed as a power broker, the then deputy governor to Admiral Nyako, Bala Ngilari, was reinforcing his appalling lack of principles. He did not support his boss during the impeachment process, for he preferred to stay aloof. He could theoretically reserve his support and still maintain his principles, if he had any. But everything he did showed he had no scintilla of principles. Hoping to profit from the misery of his former boss, he had joined the plot by acceding to the request of the legislature to turn in his resignation. It was clear to the plotters that they would make heavy weather of impeaching both Admiral Nyako and Mr Ngilari, so they asked the latter to resign in order to facilitate his enthronement once the admiral was got rid of. He quietly and unethically agreed, and gave his resignation, which he freely wrote, to the Speaker.

There was nothing in that undignified step to show he meant his resignation as a red herring or as a contrivance to ambush the plotters, as he tried to make

Adamawa legislative coup miscarries

•Ngilari

•Fintiri

out in court during his battle to reclaim office.

As soon as Admiral Nyako was unhorsed, however, Hon Fintiri greedily claimed the governor’s office, clawed his opponents, including Mr Ngilari, and elbowed the PDP hierarchs who realised too late they had been upstaged in a state now seething with betrayal and plots.

Recognising late in the day that he also had been betrayed, Mr Ngilari headed to court. There were enough grounds in his petition to undo Hon Fintiri, a conclusion even the most pro-establishment judge in the land would be hard put to ignore. Last week, the chickens came home to roost for Hon Fintiri, who is now struggling to reclaim his former position in the legislature. It is not certain he would succeed.

But even if he does, it would not detract

from his desensitised heart, nor from his execrable politics.

Mr Ngilari is doing his best to convince the PDP top hats in Abuja, perhaps especially Dr Jonathan, that he would be their Man Friday during the 2015 presidential poll. He means it, for after all, he did not accompany his former boss into the All Progressives Congress (APC), hoping perhaps to profit from the doom Adimral Nyako was certain to come to on account of his unrelenting opposition to the president. The PDP leaders in Abuja, who had other plans for the State House in Yola outside of Hon Fintiri, came to grief but recovered their wits fast enough to throw in their lot with Mr Ngilari whom they think would be easy to beat in 2015. If Mr Ngilari is able to reconcile the warring and contentious el-

Ekiti judicial crisis: Jonathan finally speaks

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FTER Ekiti State governor-elect, Ayo Fayose, inspired the

intimidation of the judiciary in Ekiti a few weeks ago, I wrote that it was necessary for Nigerians to wait for the reactions of President Goodluck Jonathan, given his oath to defend and uphold the constitution, the National Judicial Council, and a few other leading Nigerians. The NJC, perhaps for obvious reasons, was quick to respond. It ordered the reopening of the courts in Ekiti, asked for the police to both provide adequate security for the courts and investigate the crisis, and arrest those who planned and executed the attacks on the courts and their judges.

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also spoke fairly quickly.

Through its spokesman, the unscrupulous Olisa Metuh, the party reiterated the allegations made by Mr Fayose suggesting that the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), which lost the June governorship election, was planning to use the courts to subvert the swearing in of Mr Fayose. He saw nothing wrong with the self-help embarked upon by thugs acting on behalf of his party. He did not see the danger of the consequences of intimidating the judiciary, how it could predispose the country to anarchy, where everyone secondguesses the courts and takes unlawful steps to achieve or enforce private

objectives.

For weeks, the president kept quiet.

Finally, however, Dr Jonathan has spoken, and what he had to say is truly depressing. By keeping silent over the grave attacks on the courts, attacks that horrified the rest of the world more for the tepid response of security agents and the government, the president is unaware he has spoken. He in effect has endorsed the attacks by conniving at it. Any other president would have moved speedily to protect the judiciary. But since he himself had once attacked the judiciary by prejudicially sacking a president of the Appeal Court, Justice Ayo Salami, it was inconceivable that he would be horrified by the attacks on Ekiti courts inspired and led by Mr Fayose.

To reinforce the president’s unspoken but unmistakable views on the attacks, the courts ordered reopened by the NJC have been kept under lock and key by soldiers and policemen. The security agents are supposed to provide security for the courts as they reopen, but they have ensured they are shut even against a few of the judges who attempted to gain entry and resume work. The security agents hide under the strike embarked upon by

Ekiti civil servants to defy the NJC and to keep the courts shut until Mr Fayose is sworn in. The country has not felt sufficiently outraged enough to compel Dr Jonathan to live up to the oath he took to uphold and defend the constitution. Politicians, unable to appreciate the enormity of the precedence being laid in Ekiti, hide under partisanship to excuse the anomaly. We are sowing the wind; and it is certain we will reap the whirlwind.

It takes a visionary leader to see the damage to the body politic caused by the Ekiti attacks. It takes a leader to understand the dangerously sublime message being sent out by the attacks. It takes a deep leader to recognise that in a global village the madness shown in Ekiti and connived at at the highest level lowers us, and particularly the president, in the esteem of the world.

The president has indeed spoken, and we must recognise that what he had to say is unflattering and humiliating to the black man. The consequences are unavoidable. They will come. And it is not only the victims of the court closure and attacks that will suffer; even the inspirers and executors of the attacks, not to say the presidency itself, will suffer much more.

ements in the state PDP, and is able to ingratiate himself temporarily with Abuja, he will lead the party to the next polls and await his fate in a state riven by feverish plots, betrayal and unethical politics.

The legislative coup may have failed, so to say, but it has nonetheless introduced too many contending elements into the state’s political crucible to the point that stability may elude it for a while to come. While they were plotting against Admiral Nyako, ambitious governorship hopefuls in the state abandoned principles, remorselessly crossed party lines, and formed temporary alliances so tenuous that they defy reason.

Buba Marwa, a former Lagos State governor, and a man who won reputation as a sound administrator, proved his frailty by oscillating recklessly between parties; Bamanga Tukur and Jibril Aminu, veritable party leaders with monarchical tendencies, joined the plots not to serve the state or help it fulfill lofty goals, but to enthrone their own children; and Nuhu Ribadu, hitherto recognised as one of the most implacable exponents of ethics in politics, also joined the plot from a somewhat aloof standpoint and has all but ruined his reputation.

The media celebrate the political quirkiness unfolding in Adamawa State. They have not passed judgement on those who midwife the political and social maelstrom convulsing the state, and really do not need to. History will more competently pass judgement, and do it with such delicate aplomb that cannot be equalled, let alone surpassed. Mr Ngilari beamed expansively as he took his oath of office, an oath that means nothing to them in Adamawa, as it means nothing to Dr Jonathan and his co-conspirators in the presidency and PDP headquarters. Hon Fintiri is angrily plotting his way back into reckoning in the state legislature while training his guns on his Madagali local government area compatriot, Mr Ngilari. The pampered sons of the high and mighty in Adamawa, the scions of Alhaji Tukur and Professor Aminu, are for now ensconced in obscurity until they can decipher the shape of the warfare that is certain to break upon the state soon.

And Mallam Ribadu, as this column predicted weeks ago should he fail to get the PDP ticket or even win the byelection, sits in rueful meditation, wondering what the gods have in stock for him.

For now, development has come to a grinding halt in Adamawa. In the few short weeks Hon Fintiri usurped power, he dispensed largess copiously rather than govern, and would have continued to do so had the by-election held and had he won.

The ingratiating and unprincipled Mr Ngilari can be trusted to open the barn and let all the foxes feed in the few months remaining of the Nyako mandate, assuming the former governor does not come back to reclaim his mandate. Between the rampaging behemoths in Abuja and the pugnacious monoliths in Adamawa, the fate of the state seems sealed. The patriot and the judicious in Adamawa will pray that after 2015, sensible and diligent leaders can attain office and give the state the leadership required to ennoble its politics and develop its economy. But given the crop of politicians swarming around everywhere in that infested region, the chances of a turnabout are not as bright as the mind can envision.

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